Court of Appeal Upholds Death Sentence for Hilton Hotel Owner in Murder of OAU Student
In a landmark ruling on Thursday, the Court of Appeal in Akure, Ondo State, has upheld the death sentence of Rahman Adedoyin, the owner of Hilton Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, for the gruesome murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). The court affirmed the Osun State High Court’s May 2023 decision to sentence Adedoyin to death by hanging, following his conviction for the 2021 killing.
Adedoyin was found guilty of murdering Adegoke, who had travelled from Abuja to Osun State to sit for an exam at OAU’s Distance Learning Centre. Adegoke checked into the Hilton Hotel but was reported missing two days later. His body was later discovered, leading to a police investigation that eventually implicated Adedoyin and his associates in the crime.
The trial, which was closely watched by the public, saw the conviction of two others involved in the crime. Additionally, the Osun High Court ordered that Adedoyin’s hotel and a Hilux vehicle used to transport Adegoke’s body be forfeited.
In response to the conviction, Adedoyin’s legal team, led by Kehinde Eleja, appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the evidence and witnesses presented in the trial did not sufficiently establish Adedoyin’s role in the murder. Despite these claims, a three-member panel of judges, headed by Justice Olufemi Akeju, rejected the appeal and upheld the original conviction.
The appeal court, however, made one notable change, overturning the earlier decision that required Adedoyin to forfeit his hotel and cover the educational expenses of Adegoke’s children.
