Timothy Adegoke’s murder: Trial stalled as Adedoyin fails to produce witness
THE failure of the owner of Hilton Honors Hotel, IleIfe, Osun State, Rahmon Adedoyin to produce his witness in court and the absence of Femi Falana ( SAN), yesterday, stalled the murder case of Timothy Adegoke, a postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife, a guest of the hotel, who was murdered.
Adedoyin, alongside six of his hotel workers, including Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwole Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem, Adebayo Kunle and Adedeji Adesola, are standing trial over the death of Adegoke.
When the matter was mentioned for continuation of hearing yesterday, all the defendants were present in court.
The trial judge, Chief Judge of Osun, Justice Adepele Ojo, asked counsel to the first defendant ( Adedoyin), K. Eleja, SAN, to call his witness, but Eleja informed the court that the witness was not in court because of his posting.
According to him, the witness is a police officer and his posting did not allow him to be present in court.
“All efforts of the bailiff of this court to serve the summons issued on November 28, 2022, to the witness were unsuccessful. In the circumstance, it will be impracticable for the first defendant to call his witness today ( Thursday). The said witness is a police officer and we were told that by his beat, he will not be available this week,” Eleja informed the court.
Meanwhile, counsel to the second, fourth and fifth defendants, Muritala Abdulrosheed SAN, said he was ready to call a witness for the fourth defendant.
He, however, drew attention of the court to the fact that the prosecutor, Mr. Femi Falana ( SAN) was not present and asked the court if Fatima Adesina, who held the brief for Falana, could stand in for the main prosecutor in the substantive trial.
Abdulrosheed said: “My Lord, I don’t think that Fatimah has the fiat of the government to stand in for Falana in this substantive trial. I am just trying to think aloud on what will be the effect on the proceedings when she doesn’t have the fiat of the Federal Government.”
But, Adesina insisted that the fiat given to Falana to prosecute the matter was for Femi Falana’s Chamber, thus anyone sent from the chamber could take up the matter on his behalf.
Reacting, Justice Ojo, said beside the fiat matter that was contentious, since the first defence witness was not available in court, it would be improper to proceed with the matter.
Ojo lamented the delay in the trial and warned parties to sit up and get the matter done before next year.