The Nigeria Police Force is set to re-arraign the proprietor of Hilton Hotel, Rahmon Adedoyin, and six others over the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
This comes after Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, struck out the case against Adegoke and others on Tuesday.
The judge struck out the case following an application for notice of discontinuance in pursuant to Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 by the police lawyer, who is also the prosecutor, Ochogwu Ogbeh.
Although the alleged murder took place in Osun State, the police in Abuja took over the case and arraigned the defendants before a FCT High court.
However, the family of the victim hired human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), to take over the case.
Falana subsequently wrote to the Inspector-General of Police requesting that the matter be transferred to Osun State, which had jurisdiction on the matter.
Granting Falana’s request, the police notified the court that they were discontinuing the matter in a letter titled, ‘Notice of discontinuance of charge no. CR/015/22 brought pursuant to Section 108 of Administration of Criminal Act, 2015’.
The judge struck out the case to enable the police to file fresh charges.
The victim was in Osun State to write an examination at the OAU Distance Learning Centre, Moro campus, when he was declared missing on November 7, 2021.
He was last seen alive at Hilton Hotel and Resort in Ile-Ife before his remains were found.
Justice Osho-Adebiyi struck out the case when the police lawyers requested that they needed to conduct further investigations into the murder of the student.
The Force Central Investigations Department had filed criminal charges against Adedoyin accusing him of attempted felony, conspiracy, unlawful interference with Adegoke’s corpse and tampering with the hotel’s receipt and CCTV camera with intent to conceal evidence to prove that the deceased lodged in the hotel.
Apart from the hotelier, those charged are 23-year-old Adedeji Adesola; Magdalene Chiefuna, 24; Adeniyi Aderogba and Oluwale Lawrence, both 37; Oyetunde Kazeem, 38; and Adebayo Kunle, 35, while others are said to still be at large.
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