Timothy Adegoke, a former master’s student at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, died between November 5 and November 7, 2021, in the Hilton Honours Hotel in Ile-Ife. The popular hotel owner, Dr. Ramon Adedoyin, was found guilty of his murder by the Osun State High Court.
In her ruling on the case, the Osun Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, stated that the circumstantial evidence suggested that Adegoke was killed while being a guest at the hotel run by Adedoyin.
She said that Adedoyin’s decision to stay out of the witness box didn’t help him since the burden of proof had been placed on him by the circumstantial evidence.
In addition, Justice Ojo dismissed the alibi offered on behalf of Adedoyin by his attorney, who claimed that the hotel owner was in Abuja for several days around the time the late Adegoke died. Justice Ojo claimed that Adedoyin’s decision not to enter the witness box meant that he agreed to the murder charge brought against him by the prosecution.
Adeniyi Aderogba and Kazeem Oyetunde, two employees of the Hilton Hotels in Ile-Ife, were also given death sentences by Justice Adepele Ojo, the chief judge of Osun State.
Magdalene Chiefuna, Lawrence Oluwole, and Adedeji Adesola, three Hilton Hotels employees in Ile-Ife, were released and found not guilty by the court, while the seventh defendant’s hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
He was charged along with other hotel employees Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwole Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem Adebayo Kunle, and Adedeji Adesola.
The defendants were accused of 18 counts, including conspiracy, murder, and breaking an oath of silence.