OAU PG student: Police withdraw murder case against Adedoyin

The Nigerian police have withdrawn its case against Ramon Adedoyin and six suspects charged with the alleged murder of Timothy Adegoke.

Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), was said to have traveled from Abuja to write an exam at a distance learning centre in Moro, Osun state on November 5.

He was, however, declared missing two days later — only to be found dead.

The police had arrested Adedoyin and the six suspects said to be staff members of Hilton Hotels and Resort, Ile-Ife where the deceased lodged. Their arrest was in connection to the student’s death.

But at a high court sitting in Abuja, the police applied to discontinue all proceedings in the murder case for “further investigation”.

Ochogwu Ogbe, the prosecuting counsel, moved an application for the discontinuance of the case on Tuesday.

Ogbe argued that the move was informed by emerging “new facts” in the case.

“Take notice that the complainant discontinues all the proceedings in the case against the defendants for further investigation,” the prosecution team said.

Following the application, Modupe Osho-Adebiyi, the judge, issued the order striking out the charges filed against Adedoyin and the other suspects.

“Since the prosecutor has applied for a discontinuance of case and the defendants are not opposing the application, I hereby struck out the case,” she held.

It, however, remains unclear if the police would release the defendants during the period of “further investigations.”

The police withdrawal from the case comes after Femi Falana, the human rights lawyer, had called on Usman Baba, the inspector general of police (IGP), to transfer the suspects from the Abuja court to a competent court in Osun — the state where Adegoke died.

Falana, who is a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was recently hired as the lawyer to the family of the late postgraduate student.