Justice At Last For Adegoke

Recently, Justice Oyebola Ojo, sitting at an Osun State High Court, sentenced Dr. Rahman Adedoyin, owner of Hilton Hotel in Ile-Ife, to death by hanging for the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Adedoyin and six of his hotel staff – Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwole Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem, Adebayo Kunle and Adedeji Adesola, were prosecuted on 18 count charge, including conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful killing of Timothy Adegoke, an attempt to commit a felony, administering an extra judicial oath, tampering with evidence, manufacturing evidence, indecent tampering with the deceased’s body and interference with the deceased’s body, among others.

In its ruling, the court discharged and acquitted three defendants, Magdalene Chiefuna, Oluwole Lawrence, and Adebayo Kunle on the charges brought against them. Adedoyin was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, unlawful killing, and conspiracy to administer extra judicial oath, indecent tampering with the deceased body, tampering with evidence and manufacturing of evidence.

Two others, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem Adedoyin, were also found guilty and convicted on some of the charges. Adedoyin was sentenced to 10 years jail term on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, and death by hanging for the charges of murder and the unlawful killing of Mr. Adegoke. He will serve another combined 15 years in jail for conviction on four other charges. The judge declared Raheem Adedoyin wanted and for the International Police (Interpol) to commence a manhunt for the accused to arrest him in any part of the world he may be hiding.

The whole saga started after Adegoke, who was based in Abuja, was declared missing on November 7, 2021, by the police in Osun State when he did not report for his postgraduate examination at the OAU in Ile-Ile, on November 6, 2021.

He was reported to have lodged at the Hilton Hotel Ile-Ife, owned by Dr Rahman Adedoyin and his body was later found in a shallow grave along the Ede Road, Ile-Ife after the investigating team was taken to where it was dumped by Aderogba and Kazeem.

They alleged that it was dumped on the instruction of the managing director of the Hotel, Raheem Adedoyin, son of the owner, who was at large at the time of the court sentencing.

As a newspaper, we commend all those connected with ensuring that justice is served for the Adegoke family, starting with the police that swung into action as soon as the deceased was declared missing. Unlike in cases where the police bungled investigation and allowed the culprits to walk free due to negligence or compromise, in this case, the police detectives showed an uncanny level of professionalism in unearthing the crime, gathering the necessary evidence and prosecuting the culprits successfully.

Even more poignant is the fact that the person involved is no ordinary person. Apart from owning the Hilton Hotel and Resorts, Ile Ife where the master’s student was murdered, Dr Rahmon Adedoyin is also the founder of Oduduwa University, and the Polytechnic, Ile Ife. A well-known educationist, businessman and philanthropist in the Osun State, reports had it that he almost became the Ooni of Ife, the foremast traditional ruler in Yorubaland.  For the police to secure conviction for such an influential billionaire in a country like Nigeria where the wealthy use their resources and connections to escape justice is no ordinary feat.

After the judgment, the wife of the deceased told the media how agents acting for the culprits tried to bribe her and her family with over N70 million and other supports for her children if they dropped the case, which they rejected outright. That is also commendable for a woman with no job and facing an uncertain future with the death of the breadwinner of the family. It shows that not everything has a price.

Also commendable is the quickness in arriving at judgement. In a country where cases linger in the courts for decades, this one took barely one year and six months to resolve. As a newspaper we commend both the judiciary and the police teams for their promptness, for justice delayed is justice denied.

Finally, in these days of smart phones, it is advisable for Nigerians to communicate their movements to their loved ones. The police were able to crack the case because the deceased was communicating his movements to his wife, which helped the detectives to track him to the crime scene.