Court Upholds Death Sentence for Hotelier Adedoyin Over OAU Student’s Murder

Kehinde Fajobi

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has upheld the death sentence handed to Dr Ramon Adedoyin, owner of Hilton Hotels and Resorts, for the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a Master’s student at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

The appellate court, in its judgement delivered on Thursday, affirmed the ruling of the Osun State High Court, which convicted Adedoyin and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Adegoke, who travelled from Abuja to sit for his examinations at OAU’s Distance Learning Centre in Moro, lodged at Adedoyin’s hotel in Ile-Ife on November 5, 2021.

He later went missing and was found buried in a shallow grave after police investigations revealed foul play.

“The judgement of the High Court of Osun State stands. Adedoyin’s appeal is dismissed in part. The Court of Appeal held that Adedoyin was properly convicted and sentenced to death,” the ruling stated.

However, the appellate court overturned certain aspects of the lower court’s decision, including the order to forfeit Hilton Hotels and the directive for Adedoyin and others to sponsor the education of Adegoke’s children.

Previously, Osun State High Court Justice Adepele Ojo had ruled that Adedoyin’s refusal to testify in court implied acceptance of the murder charge brought against him.

Justice Ojo also sentenced two of Adedoyin’s staff, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, to death by hanging.

This verdict reinforces the position of both courts on the gravity of the crime, which shook the public when it first surfaced in 2021.