The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has reserved judgment on the appeal filed by Ramon Adedoyin, who was sentenced to death by an Osun State High Court in Osogbo over the death of a student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, the late Timothy Adegoke.
Adegoke was allegedly killed in the Hilton Hotels, Ile-Ife, Osun State, owned by Adedoyin. Adedoyin and some members of his staff were found guilty by the Osun High Court.
The late master’s degree student of OAU was killed between November 5 and 7, 2021, at Adedoyin’s hotel, where he had lodged.
According to the lower court’s judgment, the circumstantial evidence available indicated that Adegoke was killed while staying at the hotel. Adedoyin’s refusal to enter the witness box shifted the burden of proof onto him, which the court ruled did not help his defense.
The court also held that Adedoyin’s failure to testify implied his agreement with the murder charge pressed against him by the prosecution, dismissing the alibi provided by his counsel, which claimed that Adedoyin was in Abuja during the period of Adegoke’s death.
Justice Adepele Ojo sentenced Adedoyin and two of his staff members, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, to death by hanging for their involvement in disposing of the deceased’s body.
Dissatisfied with the verdict, Adedoyin and the other convicts approached the Appeal Court to seek nullification of the lower court’s judgment.
At the hearing on Tuesday, counsel for the respondents, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, informed the court of his brief of argument, dated January 17, 2024, urging the court to adopt his arguments and dismiss the appellants’ appeal. He also requested the court to uphold the lower court’s judgment, citing the prosecution’s evidence.
Falana argued that the appellant’s defense was irrelevant, stating that circumstantial evidence had proven that the appellant conspired with others to commit the crime.
“There is no doubt about the appellant’s involvement in Adegoke’s death. After the incident, Adedoyin gathered some of his staff to take an oath of secrecy. He also transported the vehicle used to convey the deceased to his residence in Abuja and instructed his staff to cover up the circumstances surrounding the murder,” Falana said.
He urged the court to carefully consider the evidence and briefs submitted, dismiss the appeal, and uphold the original judgment in the interest of justice.
However, Adedoyin’s counsel, Mr Kehinde Eleja, SAN, pleaded with the court to allow the appeal, arguing that no evidence supported the conviction. He stated that none of the prosecution witnesses mentioned Adedoyin’s involvement during the trial.
“The appellant did not make any confessional statement during the trial and did not call any witnesses because no evidence implicated him. There is doubt about the appellant’s presence at the hotel the day before the incident,” Eleja said.
He urged the court to discharge the appellant on all counts for which he had been found guilty by the lower court.
The three-man panel, led by Justice Olufemi Akeju, reserved judgment on the appeal after the counsels for all parties adopted their written addresses. A new date for the judgment will be communicated to the parties.
