An Osun High Court in Osogbo, on Friday adjourned to March 30, ruling in the murder case of Timothy Adegoke, a Post Graduate Masters student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.
The Presiding Judge and Chief Justice of Osun, Adepele Ojo, gave the order after listening to the defence counsel’s plea on no-case submission and the prosecution’s reply.
The defence counsel to Dr Ramon Adedoyin, Mr Yusuf Ali (SAN), told the court that a written address on no-case submission was filed on March 22, and the prosecution was in receipt of the document.
Ali prayed the court to uphold that the prosecution had failed to adduce legal, admissible evidence to his client.
He said the prosecution only made an illegal invitation to the court by urging the court to rely on unproven and unintended evidence against his client.
Also, the defence counsel to the second, fourth and fifth defendants, Mr Muritala Abdulrasheed, said he adopted his written addresses as argument and submission in the case, urging the court to uphold his no-case submission.
“We filed a no-case submission dated March 22, 2022,” Abdulrasheed stated.
He said said the principle of upholding a no-case submission had been established because no acts of the defendants were traceable to the death of Timothy Adegoke.
He said the prosecution had failed to establish strong evidence in the case linking any of the defendants to the offences of murder, conspiracy and felony, as being alleged.
Mr Roland Otaru, the defence counsel to the third and sixth defendants, also submitted to the court that there was no evidence established or proven that the defendants committed the offences for which they were being charged.
Otaru said he also filed a no-case submission on March 22, and that he would adopt and rely on the said written addresses on behalf of his clients.
He urged the court to exercise its powers in discharging the defendants because the prosecution had not been able to establish any evidence so far.
The defence counsel to the seventh defendant, Mr Okoh Itah, said the prosecution had not elicited any iota of evidence through the witnesses it presented in court.
Itah said a no-case submission in that regard had also been filed on the same March 22, 2022 on behalf of his clients.
He said said the prosecution had only succeeded in raising a conspiracy theory that the defendant was guilty or connected to the events that led to the death of the deceased.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Mr M. Omosun, told the court that he had adopted his reply to the no-case -submission tendered by the defence counsel to each of the defendants as legal arguments.
Omosun said the prosecution had made concrete evidences against all the defendants and so they should stand trial to defend themselves.
He urged the court to uphold his reply on the no-case submission and jettison all authorities cited by the defence counsel in respect of the defendants because they were all irrelevant to the case.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the Chairman of Hilton Hotel, Ile-Ife, Dr Rahmon Adedoyin, and six others were charged with the murder of Timothy Adegoke.
NAN further reports that the six defendants are: Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwole Florence, Oyetunde Kazeem, Adebayo Kunle and Adedeji Adesola.
The defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty to the 11-count charge, bordering on conspiracy, murder, attempted felony, unlawful interference with a dead body, altering and intent to destroy evidence.
NAN also reports that the case file number: HOS/5C/2022, dated Feb. 14, and filed on Feb. 17, had earlier been substituted with HOS/5C/ 2022, dated Feb. 22, and filed on March 2. (NAN)