Adedeji Adesola, the receptionist working at the Hilton Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on the day former masters student Timothy Adegoke from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, arrived at the establishment, has received a two-year prison sentence.
Adepele Ojo, the chief judge of Osun State, delivered the verdict at the court’s session on Wednesday.
In the courtroom on Tuesday, the judge had found her guilty of conspiring to fake evidence and hide the fact that the deceased had stayed there before he passed away.
However, the judge postponed her sentencing until Wednesday as a result of the prosecution and her attorney, Okon Ita and Okon Ita, respectively, begging for the court’s clemency.
The hotel owner, Dr. Ramon Adedoyin, and two of his staff, Adeniyi Aderogba and Oyetunde Kazeem had been earlier sentenced to death by hanging.
Adegoke arrived at the hotel on November 5, 2021, but was subsequently discovered dead by police officers buried in a small grave along Ife-Ede, days after he was reported missing. The court ruled them responsible for his killing.
Both Adesina and Adesola’s attorneys had pleaded with the court to show mercy in Adesola’s case and take into account her age and the circumstances surrounding her actions.
In her ruling, Justice Ojo stated that she had taken into consideration both the defendant’s pleading for mercy and Section 411 of the Constitution.
She said, “I have considered the passionate plea of the 7th defendant and the submission of the prosecution on the need to temper justice with mercy. I have observed and considered the sober disposition of the 7th defendant in court throughout the trial.
“I am equally mindful of the circumstances surrounding the case of the 7th defendant. I am not unmindful of the provisions of the Section 411 2(b) of the law. I hereby sentence you Adedeji Adesola to 2 years imprisonment starting from the first day of your arrest.”
