The Police Public Relations Officer in Osun State Police Command, SP Yemisi Opalola, has given an update on case of the death of Timothy Adegoke in Hilton Hotel, Ile-Ife, saying that the audio message issued by the owner of the hotel where the MBA student lodged and his body found, Dr Rahman Adedoyin, has admitted making it before his arrest.
She also said that none of the body parts of Adegoke was missing, contrary to the viral news of such occurrence.
Dr Adedoyin is one of the prime suspects in the suspected murder of Adegoke, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) student in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who lodged in the hotel but was later discovered dead and buried within the hotel premises.
The PPRO, who spoke at a press briefing on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, said that it was clear to everyone present at the exhumation of the corpse, including the deceased’s family members, police and the pathologist at the scene that when it was unwrapped, there was no part of the body missing.
She stated that if it had been otherwise, someone would have raised the alarm, adding: “The corpse was consequently wrapped and taken to the hospital for medical examination (autopsy).”
On the audio recording made by the owner of the hotel, Dr. Rahman Adedoyin, which had also gone viral, SP Opalola said that the police were embarrassed, and on investigation, the hotel owner admitted voicing the audio message.
“He said that he felt inclined to make it when some members of his staff were arrested by the police. He affirmed making it before he was arrested to defend himself when some people, especially the brother of the deceased, was referring to him as a ritualist. He said it was made to clear himself because they have already maligned his character even without due process of law. He further stated that he recorded the audio before his arrest by the police,” the PPRO said.
She noted that the staff of the hotel were arrested on November 11 and 12, 2021, while he (Dr Adedoyin) was subsequently arrested on November 15.
“He said he did not know whether the audio was released or when it was released until police told him about it, since he had been incarcerated since 15th November, 2021, and doesn’t have access to his phone.
“Meanwhile, police will stop at nothing in unraveling who actually released the audio,” Opalola said.
She also cleared the ground on the detention of suspects and the preferential treatment being allegedly accorded Dr Adedoyin, saying that police investigation had always been with detention as a normal process.
The PPRO said that the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Osogbo, had no VIP cells designated for anyone.
“The questions now are: Has any person officially visited the SCID cell and met the absence of the suspect(s) we are talking about? Can it be said reliably that the suspect is not in the police custody?” she asked.
She assured that all the suspects connected to the matter were in lawful custody and the command got a valid court order, justifying their detention pending the completion of police investigation.
