Adedoyin, Others Remanded in Prison
Chairman of the Hilton Hotel, Ile Ife, Ramon Adedoyin was on Thursday remanded in Ilesa Correctional Centre pending Monday when the court hear their application for bail.
Arraigned with Adedoyin on Thursday were Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwole Florence, Oyetunde Kazeem, Adebayo Kunle and Adedeji Adesola.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty to an 11-count charge bothering on conspiracy, murder, attempted felony, unlawful interference with a dead body, altering and intent to destroy evidence.
The case file number: HOS / 5C/ 2022 dated February 14, 2022 and filed on Feb. 17, 2022, was substituted with: HOS/5C/ 2022, dated Feb. 22 , 2022 and filed on March 2 , 2022.
The lead prosecution counsel, Mr. M.O. Omosun, told the court that the defendants committed the offences sometimes between November 5, 2021 and Nov. 7 , 2021 within Ile-Ife area in Osun.
Omosun said that the defendants with others now at large conspired among themselves to kill one Timothy Adegoke for unjust reasons.
“They also altered and cancelled the receipt number 9316, which indicated the payment receipt made by Timothy Adegoke to Hilton Hotels in Ile Ife.
“The body of the decease, his laptop, phones and his other belongings were dumped at an undisclosed place by the defendants to cover up their activities after he was allegedly murdered.
He said that the offences committed contravened Sections 324, 306 , 315 , 509 , 516, 519, 242 , and 106 of the Criminal Code, cap 38 vol. 11 , Laws of Osun, 2004.
Omosun pleaded with the court to order the remand of the defendants in a correctional centre due to the magnitude of the alleged offences they committed.
The defence counsel, Mr. K.K. Eleja, prayed the court to grant his clients bail in the most liberal terms.
Eleja drew the attention of the court to counts: four , six , eight , 10 and 11, which indicated that Adedoyin is not standing trial for a capital offence.
He also cited Section 157 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of Osun State , pleading with the court to grant the first defendant ,Adedoyin, bail on liberal terms .
Eleja said though the prosecution counsel had already filed an 11-paragraph counter affidavits on March 2 , 2022 against his client for bail , he believed Adedoyin would not jump bail or tamper with the ongoing trial.
” We pray your lordship to admit the first defendant into bail after the prosecution had failed to show why he should not be granted bail.
” The applicant had been in detention since November 2021 and even the prosecution knows that the first defendant was taken to an hospital in Abuja even before being brought to Osun,” he said.
The counsel for the six other defendants including Mr. Kunle Adegoke (SAN) aligned themselves with the application for bail in the most liberal terms with supported counter affidavits, and written addresses with oral arguments on points of law.
The Presiding judge as well as the Chief Judge of Osun, Justice Adepele Ojo, overruled the bailed condition by the defence counsel and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Ilesa Correctional Centre.
She urged all counsel to ensure a speedy trial of the case within a short stipulated time and adjourned the case till March 4.
Ojo, therefore , said that the application for bail by the seventh defendant would be heard on March 4 , 2022 while the judge ordered all the defendants to be remanded at the Ilesa Correctional Centre.
Adedoyin and Adedeji Adesola, Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwale Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem and Adebayo Kunle had been previously arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The defendants were arraigned on charges bordering on: conspiracy, unlawful interference with a dead body, altering and intent to destroy evidence and murder.
OUR EARLIER POST:
Owner of Hilton Hotels Ife, in Osun State, Ramon Adedoyin was brought to an Osogbo High Court on Thursday in the first appearance over the death of a student of Obafemi Awolowo University Timothy Adegoke.
Adedoyin was brought to the court in company with six other suspects.
Most of them are staff of his hotel where it was alleged that Timothy died.
His remains had been buried in a shallow grave in a forest not far away from the hotel.
There was drama as stern looking policemen arrested three men who were believed to have some alleged incriminating substances with them when they tried to force their way into the court premises on Thursday.
The police, in anticipation of a huge crowd, had mounted a heavy security around the court premises which is not far away from the Government House in the state capital.
The suspects had earlier been transferred to Abuja on the orders of the Inspector General Of Police.
However, human rights lawyer Femi Falana, upon taking over the case on behalf of the family, had requested the police boss to return the case to Osun which he said has jurisdiction over the matter.
Lawyer to the family at the beginning of the case, Naim Adekilekun had written to the police boss that it was illegal and illogical for the matter to be prosecuted in Abuja.
Details Later….