TIMOTHY ADEGOKE'S FAMILY AGAINST TRYING THE SUSPECTS OUTSIDE OSUN STATE
The family of the murdered Masters student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Timothy Adegoke, is against the police idea of taking the suspects to Abuja. Recalling the moment the victim had lodged in Hilton Hotels and Resorts at Ile-Ife owned by Rahman Adedoyin, upon his arrival from Abuja on November 5, to enable him to arrive early for his examination at the OAU Distance Learning Centre, Moro, Osun State, on November 6 and November 7, he was declared missing.
Subsequently Mr Adegoke was declared missing, the police were invited and seven suspects were arrested by the Osun state police command, where the investigation commenced.
Later, men of the Intelligence Response Team at the Police Headquarters in Abuja took over the investigation and the case was transferred to the Federal Capital Territory.
Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the police sued the accused persons before a High Court in Abuja as the police are charging the owner of the hotel where Mr Adegoke was allegedly murdered with illegally disposing of his body, altering and cancelling his payment receipt, and removal of the hotel’s CCTV cameras with intent to destroy evidence.
Others charged alongside Mr Adedoyin are: Adedeji Adesola, 23; Magdalene Chiefuna, 24; Adeniyi Aderogba, 37; Oluwale Lawrence, 37, Oyetunde Kazeem, 38; Adebayo Kunle, 35, and others who are on the run.
Mr Adegoke’s family is, however, opposing the location and the idea of the police taking Mr Adedoyin and others to Abuja, as the family through its counsel, Naim Adekilekun, is insisting that the trial should be done in Osun State since that is the state where the crime was committed.
The lawyer noted that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act guides the prosecution of crimes at the Federal High Court in Nigeria and other offences punishable in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and it also provides the framework for criminal litigation in those courts where it is applicable.