The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Tuesday dismissed the case of alleged murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State.
The dismissal by judge Modupe Osho-Adebiyi followed an application for discontinuance of the case filed by prosecuting counsel, Ochogwu Ogbe.
Adegoke died on November 6, 2021 in a controversial circumstance at Hilton Hotel and Resorts in Ile Ife, where he had lodged to sit for an examination.
He was allegedly buried by the management without the notice of the police and his family.
According to the case summary and proof of evidence earlier filed by the police, Adedoyin is being charged with illegally disposing of Adegoke’s body, altering and cancelling his payment receipt and removal of the hotel’s CCTV cameras with intent to destroy evidence.
The defendants in the case include the hotelier Ramon Adedoyin, Adedeji Adesola, 23; Magdalene Chiefuna, 24; Adeniyi Aderogba, 37; Oluwale Lawrence, 37, Oyetunde Kazeem, 38; Adebayo Kunle, 35, and others at large.
The police moved Adedoyin and the six others from Osun State to Abuja for investigation and prosecution.
But in a ‘Notice of Discontinuation of Charge No.CR/015/2022 brought pursuant to Section 108 of Administration of Criminal Act 2015’, on February 7, 2022, the police told the court to discontinue the matter.
“Take notice that the complainant discontinues all of the proceedings in this case against the above named defendants for further investigation”, said Ochogwu Ogbeh of the Legal and Prosecution Section of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja.
It was not immediately clear if the police would release the defendants during the period of further investigation.
One of the counsels for the defendants, Yusuf Alli (SAN), confirmed the development on Tuesday.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, had asked the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to transfer the suspects from the Abuja court to a competent court in Osun State.
Falana, who is the lawyer to the family of the deceased Master’s student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, made the request in a letter dated February 4, 2022.
The senior lawyer had argued that the criminal offences were said to have been committed at Ile-Ife and that the suspects ought to have been charged before a court of competent jurisdiction in Osun state.
