Ramon Adedoyin, owner of Hilton Hotels in Ile-Ife, Osun State, has appealed the death sentence handed down by an Osun State High Court for the murder of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student at Obafemi Awolowo University. Adegoke died between November 5 and 7, 2021, while staying at Adedoyin's hotel.

The Court of Appeal in Akure, Ondo State, has reserved judgment on Adedoyin's appeal. He, along with two of his hotel staff members, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, was found guilty of Adegoke’s murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Three other staff members, Magdalene Chiefuna, Oluwole Lawrence, and Adebayo Kunle, were acquitted, while the receptionist on duty, Adesola Adedeji, was sentenced to two years in prison.

The appeal follows a ruling by the Osun State High Court, which ordered that the hotel be forfeited to the state government and that the education of Adegoke’s children be funded by the estates of the convicted individuals until they complete tertiary education.

Adedoyin’s lawyer, Kehinde Eleja (SAN), argued before the Court of Appeal that no evidence from the Osun State High Court trial linked Adedoyin to Adegoke's murder. Eleja claimed the trial judge's ruling was riddled with contradictions, and the doubts should have been resolved in Adedoyin's favor. He also criticized the judge's order to sell Adedoyin's hotel to support Adegoke’s children.

On the other hand, Femi Falana (SAN), who led the prosecution, countered that unchallenged evidence showed Adedoyin was involved in covering up Adegoke's death. He highlighted that Adedoyin visited the hotel the night Adegoke checked in, only for him and his co-defendants to deny Adegoke’s stay. Additionally, a forged receipt was used to replace the original one given to Adegoke, and Adedoyin allegedly bribed his staff to lie to the police.

Falana further claimed that the Hilux vehicle used to dump Adegoke’s body on Ife-Ede Road was later found at Adedoyin's Abuja residence. He noted that Raheem Adedoyin, Adedoyin’s son, orchestrated the cover-up by ordering staff to burn the bedding and dump the body. Falana urged the Court of Appeal to uphold the trial court's ruling, arguing that Adedoyin’s failure to testify or present witnesses was a tacit acceptance of the prosecution’s case.

Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem, represented by separate counsel, sought acquittal, arguing that no direct evidence linked them to the murder. They relied on the testimony of Professor Olusegun Ojo, a pathologist, who said the cause of death could not be determined due to the body’s decomposition. However, Falana dismissed this, noting that blood stains found in Adegoke’s room were confirmed to be his, and another pathologist confirmed the cause of death as severe hemorrhage.

Falana also revealed that both Aderogba and Kazeem had taken oaths of secrecy and helped Raheem Adedoyin dispose of Adegoke’s body. He urged the Court of Appeal to affirm their convictions as well.