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OSOGBO – The tragic murder of Timothy Adegoke, a Master’s Degree student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile Ife on November 5th 2021 in an hotel owned by Chief Raheem Adedoyin has continued to have its tolls on the hotel business in the entire ancient city of Ile Ife and its environ.
Investigation conducted by Saturday INDEPENDENT revealed that the incident has forced hotel and relaxation businesses in the area to its low ebbs and operators continued to lament the effects the case has on their businesses.
One of the operators of hotel in the area who do not want his name in the print lamented the development saying “the thing is that we cannot just voice out openly on the dearth of customers in the last four years when the incident happened and what we are passing through.
“Some of us have gone bankrupt as we could not repay money borrowed from financial institutions due to huge interest mounting on the loan that we took. Our prayer is that may God Almighty help in removing tension associated with the incident.”
Another prominent resident of Ile Ife and an hotelier, Chief Adenitan Adewale (not real name) while speaking with Saturday INDEPENDENT described the incident as unfortunate and strange in the ancient town, noting that Ile Ife “being the cradle of Yoruba race, we are normally having many tourists from foreign countries that stay in our hotels during their tour and no such incident has occurred in the past.
“Adedoyin is one of the leaders of our association as we cannot deny that fact but how it all happened we cannot comprehend till now.
“The man is gentle and a businessman to the core. He started his business from the crash by organising tutorial lesson classes for senior secondary school students seeking admission to higher institutions and eventually became owner of the first privately owned Polytechnic in Nigeria. The Polytechnic, Ile Ife.”
Adegoke however lodged in Adedoyin hotel when the incident occurred.
Already, the Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has upheld the conviction that Dr. Raheem Adedoyin be killed by hanging.
He was earlier sentenced by the Osun State High Court to death.
The Chief Judge of Osun State, Justice Adepele Ojo handed down the judgement in a suit for conspiracy to murder, concealment of fact of Adegoke ‘s death, and his eventual murder in his Hilton Hotel in Ile Ife, Osun State.
Aside from Adedoyin, two of his hotel staff, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, were found guilty by the Osun High Court in the murder case of Adegoke, whose death occurred between November 5 and 7, 2021.
The court’s judgment relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, which pointed to the involvement of Adedoyin and his staff in the killing.
The court noted that Adedoyin’s refusal to testify or provide an alibi weakened his defence.
Consequently, Justice Ojo sentenced Adedoyin and two staff members, to death by hanging over their alleged roles in the disposal of Adegoke’s body from the hotel premises.
Dissatisfied with the verdict, Adedoyin and his co-defendants approached the Appeal Court, seeking to overturn the High Court’s judgment.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye on behalf of other judges of the Appeal Court upheld the judgment of Justice Ojo that sentenced Adedoyin and two of his staff to death by hanging.
On the issues formulated by the appellate court, the court resolved the verdict that convicted the convicts for conspiracy to kill, unlawful killing, accessory after the fact, and some other various offences on behalf of the Respondents, Osun State government.
However, the Appellate Court quashed the decision related to the order of the Trial Court mandating the convicts to be responsible for the education of the children of the deceased Timothy Adegoke.
The Court in its judgement also held that for convictions, the jurisdiction of the Trial Court is limited to the statutory provisions as to the penalty provided by the law.
The statutory provision, according to the appellate court is either the Trial Court complies with the maximum penalty or the minimum. It said anything outside the two, the court would not have jurisdiction to so do.
The appellate court further quashed the order of the trial court that ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s property to the state government.
Since 2021 when the incident occurred, two of Adedoyin properties, The Hilton Honoured Hotel along Ife Ibadan Express road where the tragic murder occurred and another hotel same name located at Parakin, Mayfair area of Ile Ife were under lock and keys and security operatives guarding the premises.
Efforts to delist hotel in Parakin from security watch by renaming it “Excellence Hall Hostel” could not materialise. Though, Excellence Hall now house students as their hall of residence.
Other institutions established by the convict are the first privately owned Polytechnic in Nigeria, The Polytechnic, Ile Ife, Raheem Adedoyin College of Engineering and Technology, also in Ile Ife and Oduduwa University (OOU), Ile Ife.
Report also has it that the convict was the founder of the only university in Trinida and Tobago among others.
There was no doubt the fact that when the incident occurred, there was mass exodus of students out of the above institutions while those seeking admission also stayed away but it was gathered that things are getting shape again as the institutions have their governing boards while Adedoyin was just the founder and chancellor to them.
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