The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has upheld the death sentence of a popular hotel owner, Ramon Adedoyin, who was found guilty in the murder case of an ex-Master’s student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Timothy Adegoke.
According to the court’s judgment on Thursday, the appellate court noted that the judgment by the Osun State High Court which sentenced Adedoyin to death stands.
The appeal court had reserved judgment on October 29, 2024
The judgment read in parts, “The judgment of the High Court of Ọ̀ṣun State stands. Adedoyin’s appeal is dismissed in part. The Court of Appeal held that Adedoyin was properly convicted and sentenced to death.”
It further noted that the “Order of forfeiture of Hilton Hotel is quashed and set aside. Order of education scholarships to children of Timothy Adegoke by Adedoyin and others are quashed and set aside.”
Adegoke was found dead in November 2021 at Adedoyin’s Hilton Honours Hotel, Ile-Ife, where he (the deceased) had lodged.
On January 29, 2022, the late 37-year-old Master of Business Administration student was buried beside the house he built for his parents in the New Eruwa part of Eruwa town, the Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State.
He was mourned by family members, friends and beneficiaries.
His widow, Bolatito, wept uncontrollably and refused to leave the graveside despite pleas that she should step aside.
In March same year, Afeez Olaniyan, the Investigative Police Officer who undertook the first probe into Adegoke’s death, narrated how some defendants arraigned in connection with the deceased’s death, evacuated and dumped his (Adegoke) corpse in the bush.
Being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, M. Omosun, during the continuation of the trial, Olaniyan said from the statement extracted from two of the staffers of the Hilton Hotels–Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, after the death of the late Adegoke, his corpse was wrapped with a duvet, and taken out in a Hilux van driven by the son of the hotel owner, Roheem Adedoyin, to where it was dumped.
A consultant pathologist at the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Waheed Oluogun, said Adegoke’s death was caused by severe hemorrhage secondary to severe traumatic injury.
Court sentences Lagos civil servant to life imprisonment for defiling minor
Also, a 47-year-old civil servant, working with Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corp, Ramoni Amure, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling a 15-year-old minor
Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, on Thursday sentenced Amure to life imprisonment after being found guilty as charged by the state government.
The prosecution had arraigned the convict on July 28, 2021, on a two-count charge bordering on defilement and attempting to procure abortion.
He was alleged of having sexual intercourse with the survivor who was 15 years old in 2020 when the incident happened at No 8, Okesuna in Lagos.
His offences contravene the provision of section 137,142 (1)(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
However, Justice Rahman Oshodi while delivering judgement held that the prosecution has proved the case of defilement but failed to prove the case of attempt to procure abortion.
He held that the prosecution did not present a medical expert to establish that the substance given to the victim was poisonous or noxious or capable of procuring an abortion.
The judge further held that you, “Ramoni Amure your conduct was grievous giving your position as a law enforcement officer with the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corp; you abuse the trust and intimidate the victim
“I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment and also your name should be registered as a sex offender in the Lagos State register book.”
During the trial, the prosecution counsel, O. Aluko called four witnesses: PW1 the survivor, PW2 the social worker, PW3 the survivor’s mother and PW4 an Investigation Police Officer (IPO) to establish the offence against the defendant.
The defendant’s counsel, Abel Iwoara, presented only one witness, which was the defendant.
Man sent to prison for attempted rape of neigbour’s daughter
In the same vein, a 36-year-old man, Nibras Isah, was on Thursday remanded by a Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly attempting to rape his neigbour’s 12-year-old daughter.
Isah, who resides at Ungwan Sanusi in Kaduna, is charged with attempted rape.
The Magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, who did not take the plea of the accused, ordered that he should be kept in the Correctional Centre, pending legal advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions.
He adjourned the matter until February 27 for hearing.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, Inspector Chidi Leo, told the court that the accused committed the offence on January 19 at his residence.
Leo said that on the said date, the accused called the 12-year-old girl to buy a recharge card for him while she was passing by his house.
He added that when the minor brought the recharge card to Isah in his room, he locked the door, grabbed her and tried to rape her.
He added that the screaming of the minor attracted the accused neighbour, who ordered him to open the door.
The prosecutor said that when the accused opened the door, he attempted to escape, but was apprehended and taken to the Police Station.
He said the offence contravened the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2020.
