The Court of Appeal in Akure has adjourned the case involving the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a post-graduate student of Obafemi Awolowo University, at the Hilton Hotel and Resort in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The three-man jury, led by Justice Olufemi Akeju, will communicate the judgment date to the counsels, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, and Mr. Kehinde Eleja, after both parties adopted their written addresses on Tuesday.
On May 30, 2023, the Osun State High Court sentenced the owner of Hilton Hotel and Resort, Dr. Ramon Adedoyin, and his staff members, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, to death by hanging for the murder of Adegoke. The 37-year-old victim was gruesomely murdered in November 2021, and his body was discovered in a shallow grave near Adedoyin’s hotel, where Adegoke had been staying.
During the appeal hearing, the appellants’ lead counsel, Eleja, requested the court to dismiss the allegations and acquit his clients of the offence for which they were convicted. He argued that neither the evidence nor the witnesses proved Adedoyin’s involvement in the murder.
In response, the respondent’s counsel, Falana, urged the court to uphold the lower court’s judgment, citing the substantial evidence presented by the prosecution. He stated that the circumstantial evidence demonstrated Adedoyin’s conspiracy with others to commit the crime and asked the court to dismiss the appellants’ appeal.