Appeal Court reserves judgment on ex-OAU student murder

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo state, on Tuesday, reserved in an appeal over the murder of a postgraduate student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Timothy Adegoke, filed by the owner of Hilton Hotel and Resort, Ile-Ife, Mr Ramon Adedoyin.

Adedoyin who was sentenced to death by an Osun State High Court, in Osogbo, over the killing of Adegoke in his hotel in Ile Ife, contested the ruling of the High Court.

The three-man jury, headed by Justice Olufemi Akeju, however, said the date for the judgement would be communicated to the two counsels, Femi Falana, and Kehinde Eleja, after both adopted their written addresses.

The appellants’ lead counsel, Eleja prayed the court to dismiss the allegations against Adedoyin, urging the Court to acquit his clients of the murder offence he was convicted of by the lower Court.

According to him, neither the evidence nor the witnesses proved Adedoyin’s involvement in the murder and prayed the Court to acquit him.

Eleja said; “The appellant did not make any confessional statement during the trial, he did not call any witnesses because nothing was said against him.

“There was doubt in Adedoyin’s appearance in the hotel a day before the said occurrence.”

But the respondent’s counsel, Mr Falana, urged the court to affirm the judgement of the lower court based on the evidence presented by the prosecution.

He said that the pieces of circumstantial evidence proved that Adedoyin conspired with others to commit the offence, asking the court to dismiss the appellants’ appeal.

Falana added that the defence of the appellant was irrelevant to the case before the court, arguing that circumstantial evidence proved that the appellant conspired with two others to commit of which they were sentenced.

He said “There is no doubt in the appellant’s involvement in the death of Adegoke. After the incident, Adedoyin assembled some of his staff to take the oath of secrecy.

“He took the said vehicle used to convey the deceased to his house in Abuja and he instructed his staff to cover up the entire circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of the deceased.”

It will be recalled that the Osun High Court found Adedoyin and two of his staffs guilty in the murder case of Adegoke, the late masters degree student of the university , whose death occurred between November 5 and 7, 2021, at the Adedoyin”s hotel, where the deceased lodged .

Irked by the judgement, Adedoyin headed to the Appelant Court seeking nullification of the lower court ‘s judgement.

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