The Nigeria Police Force has dropped charges against Rahmon Adedoyin, the owner of Hotels and Resorts in Ile-Ife, and six others in connection with the murder of Timothy Adegoke, who died at the hotel on November 6, 2021.
On Monday, police told an Abuja High Court that they wanted to halt all proceedings in the murder case for “further investigation.”
Adedeji Adesola, 23, Magdalene Chiefuna, 24, Adeniyi Aderogba, 37, Oluwale Lawrence, 37, Oyetunde Kazeem, 38, Adebayo Kunle, 35, and others are also charged with the educationist.
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Adedoyin and the six others were transferred from Osun State to Abuja for investigation and prosecution.
According to the police case summary and proof of evidence, Adedoyin is being charged with illegally disposing of Adegoke’s body, altering and canceling his payment receipt, and removing the hotel’s CCTV cameras with the intent to destroy evidence.
On February 7, 2022, the police issued a ‘Notice of Discontinuation of Charge No.CR/015/2022 brought pursuant to Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Act 2015,’ instructing the court to dismiss the case.
“Take notice that the complainant has suspended all proceedings in this case against the above-mentioned defendants for further investigation,” said Ochogwu Ogbeh of the Force Criminal Investigation Department’s Legal and Prosecution Section in Abuja.
Yusuf Alli (SAN), one of the defendants’ attorneys, confirmed the development.
According to reports, the student died in questionable circumstances while staying at a hotel to take an exam.
He was then buried in a shallow grave by hotel management, without the knowledge of his family or the police.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana had requested that the suspects be transferred from the Abuja court to a competent court in Osun State by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba.
Falana, the lawyer for the family of the deceased Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Master’s student, made the request in a letter dated February 4, 2022.
The senior lawyer argued that the criminal offenses were allegedly committed in Ile-Ife and that the suspects should have been charged to a court of jurisdiction in Osun State.
