On Thursday, the manager of Manager of Hilton Hotel, Ile-Ife on, Mr. Adeniyi Aderogba described how the body of Timothy Adegoke was dumped in the bush on Ile-Ife-Ede Road.
Aderogba said it happened between 11 pm and 12 midnight on November 7, 2021.
Adegoke, a postgraduate student of Obafemi Awolowo University, went missing after lodging at Hilton Hotel in November 2021. After his family raised the alarm, the police began an investigation, which led to the arrest of the owner of the hotel, Ramon Adedoyin and six employees. The Managing Director of the hotel, Raheem Adedoyin, is, however, on the run.
The suspects are undergoing trial at the Osun State High Court.
Aderogba, who is the 3rd defendant, was led in evidence by his counsel, Roland Otaru (SAN).
He said that Raheem Adedoyin informed him that he had reported the death of Timothy Adegoke to the police and that the police instructed them to take the body to the mortuary. He also said that he, Raheem Adedoyin, and Kazeem Oyetunde carried the lifeless body of Adegoke from Room 305 into a Hilux vehicle and that Raheem drove them to Ede Road, where they dumped the body together with the late Adegoke’s laptop, mobile phone and bag.
But under cross-examination, Mr. M. O. Omosun who held the brief of Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) for the prosecution, asked Aderogba if the place where Adegoke’s body was dumped looked like a mortuary. He replied in the negative.
Aderogba who said that he confirmed that Adegoke was dead was asked whether he called a doctor to confirm the death. He replied in the negative. He also said that he did not report the death of Adegoke to the police. He however admitted that he called Dr Ramon Adedoyin (owner of the hotel) to inform him about the death of Adegoke.
Mr. Omosun further asked him if he found blood coming out of the nose of the deceased when he examined the body. When he denied seeing that, the lawyer made him read his statement to the police where he said that when he visited Room 305, he saw Adegoke’s body with blood coming out of his nose. Under cross-examination, Aderogba also admitted that the CCTV in the hotel was disconnected by Raheem Adedoyin after the death of Adegoke.
Aderogba was asked whether the key to Room 305 is electronic or manual, he said it was manual. Mr. Omosun asked him to state how possible it was to use a spare key from the outside to open the door that had been locked from the inside. At that stage, he said, “I don’t know.”
Aderogba said that the mattress in Room 305 was removed to dry it. But his attention was drawn to his statement where he had written that “we carry (sic) mattress from the room and burnt it.”
Another defendant, Oyerinde Kazeem, who also gave evidence for himself admitted that he was involved in the evacuation and dumping of the body of Adegoke in the bush.
Kazeem, who had given the impression that it was Raheem alone that carried the body of Adegoke from Room 305 to the vehicle admitted that “we dumped the body in the bush on Ede Road”.
On Wednesday, a receptionist at the hotel, Magdalena Chiefuna, told the court that the management of the hotel asked all staff members to delete pictures taken on their phones after the body of the deceased was found.
Chiefuna said the staff members of the hotel were made to swear an oath not to disclose what happened regarding Adegoke’s death.
She also told the Osun State High Court on Wednesday that no doctor was called and that the police were not notified about the discovery of the body of the deceased.
