Details surrounding the murder of Mr Adegoke Timothy Oludare, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), has continued to generate twists and turns with Mr. Abiodun Williams, counsel to the detained Chairman of Hilton Hotel and Resorts, Chief Ramon Adegoke, alleging conspiracy.
Williams alleged that Timothy was buried by some workers of the Ife Central Local Government, contrary to claims that his principal was involved in the murder.
According to the lawyer, the workers of Ife Central Local Government buried Timothy after receiving clearance from a police division in Ile-Ife.
Timothy was an Abuja-based student who travelled to Ife on November 5 to sit for an examination at the school’s Distance Learning Centre in Moro, Osun State.
On November 7, Timothy was declared missing by his friends and family after series of calls placed to his line failed to go through.
Shortly after he was declared missing, the Osun State Police Command disclosed that Timothy was found dead.
Since the demise of the post-graduate student, hard facts have remained scarce as a lot of reports have emerged on individuals that might be behind the murder.
As part of police investigation, the Chairman of Hilton Hotel was arrested and has since remained in detention over his alleged involvement in the murder.
But Williams, in a petition dated November 26, 2021 urged the police to thoroughly investigate the matter, adding that the role of the said council workers should be probed.
The lawyer wondered why the workers and the police have remained silent on the burial of Timothy.
The petition partly reads, “You will recall that some of the suspects in your custody allegedly confessed to dumping the corpse of the Late Mr Timothy Adegoke in the bush; they did not admit to burying him. You will equally recall that during the interview you granted to Rave 97.1 FM Radio on the 22nd day of November 2021, there it was insinuated that some of the suspects confessed to having buried the corpse in the bush at about 2km to the hotels somewhere along Ede Road, Ile-Ife, Osun State. However, there is now a strong rumour that that position may not be correct after all.
“It was the officials of the Department of Public Health, Ife Central Local Government, Ile-Ife that buried the deceased having received clearance from the officers of the Nigerian Police of one of the Divisions in Ile-Ife. We could not establish which of the divisions in Ile-Ife gave the clearance. However, we are of the view that, if the information is correct, discreet and diligent investigations will establish it.
“It would stop the question: ‘why did those that buried the corpse of Mr Timothy Adegoke keep silent all this while and allow an innocent man to be languishing in detention?’
“We also gathered from the stories going round in the public domain that the artisans, workers and business owners around the premises where the body of the Late Timothy Adegoke was initially found reported the case to the police; who in turn cleared the officials of the Department of Public Health, Ife Central Local Government, Ile-Ife to bury the corpse.
“We heard that activities leading to the burial of the deceased young man were properly recorded on video and pictures taken by the officials.
“We are of the view that if the information relating to the burial of the corpse of the deceased is promptly investigated, it would further establish the innocence of our client.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Ife Central Local Government, Olayera Elugbaju, who spoke with the members of the press denied the allegations.
The chairman said no staff has been arrested by the police, adding that he is also unaware of the claims that some workers buried the corpse of the late postgraduate student.
“No staff of the secretariat was arrested by the police. I cannot confirm to you now if our staff buried the corpse of Adegoke until I see the file they record corpses that the local government had buried in the time past,” he said.
The Osun State Police Command is also yet to react to the petition as at press time.
