Didi Udoh, Lagos.
A Nigerian hotelier, Dr. Abdulrahman Adedoyin has been sentenced to death by hanging alongside two of his employees.
A High Court sitting in Osun State condemned Dr. Adedoyin and his two employees, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem to death.
Adedoyin owns Hilton Hotel and Resort in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The trio were found guilty for the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
Adegoke was a Post-graduate Student of Business Administration in the institution before his death.
The trial involved 18 charges, including murder, conspiracy, and indecent interference with the corpse, implicated the hotel owner and six of his employees, namely Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwole Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem, Adebayo Kunle, and Adedeji Adesola.
While Adedoyin, Aderogba, and Kazeem were convicted and sentenced to death, three other defendants, Magdalene Chiefuna, Lawrence Oluwole, and Adedji Adesola, were discharged and acquitted of the charges brought against them by the prosecution.
Justice Oyebola Ojo who presided over the case, concluded that the circumstantial evidence pointed to Adedoyin’s responsibility for the murder of Timothy Adegoke.
She explained that Adedoyin’s decision not to testify had further shifted the burden of proof onto him.
READ ALSO: Media Mogul, Chief Dokpesi is Dead, Family Confirms
Dismissing the alibi presented by the defense, which claimed that the hotel owner was in Abuja during the period when Adegoke’s death occurred, Justice Ojo highlighted the weight of the circumstantial evidence against Adedoyin.
Meanwhile, the tragic incident happened when Mr. Adegoke traveled from Abuja to Ile-Ife to write his exams.
He chose to stay at Hilton Hotel, intending to remain there throughout the period of his examination period.
However, on November 7, 2021, he was reported missing by the police.
A few days later, the Osun State police command issued a statement revealing that the 37-year-old student had been found dead.
