Wale Olokode, Osun State police commissioner during the weekend said that the autopsy on the remains of Timothy Adegoke, the Master in Business Administration (MBA) student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who was killed last week for suspected ritual purposes, would be conducted today (Monday).
Adegoke had gone to Ile-Ife to sit for an exam at the OAU Distance Learning Centre, Moro campus, when he was declared missing on November 7.
His body was later discovered with some body parts said to be missing after some suspects, including workers at the hotel at Hilton Hotel and Resort were arrested by the police.
It was learnt that Adegoke had lodged in the hotel located in Ile-Ife, Osun State between October 22 and November 5, 2021, before he was later declared missing.
The student was reported missing on Saturday, November 6 when he was not found at his exam hall and could not be reached by his wife and other family members.
Meanwhile, he had earlier contacted his wife to inform her that he was staying in a hotel.
Following a police investigation, money paid by Adegoke for lodging was traced to one Adesola, who worked in the hotel.
A source had disclosed that the owner of the hotel, who also owns Oduduwa University, Ramon Adedoyin, and other workers initially denied that Adegoke was at the hotel.
Adedoyin has since been arrested and is currently being detained by the police, but the family of the deceased say there is an attempt at cover-up.
Olokode, who disclosed that the autopsy would be conducted today in Oshogbo, Osun State capital, also hinted that the Force Headquarters is not taking over the case as being rumoured in some quarters.
On the autopsy, the police boss said: “The autopsy would have been conducted last Friday at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, but it was later shifted because the family of the deceased wanted a medical expert who would represent them during the procedure to be part of the medical team.
“The person who was to represent the family did not show up on Friday, forcing the shift of the autopsy to Monday (today) to enable all the parties to be represented.
“We planned to have the autopsy on Friday, but the family of the deceased said they would want an expert who would represent them to observe the procedure.
“We expected them throughout Friday and we did not see them, that is why we chose Monday for the procedure. If not for that, it (autopsy) would have been conducted. We will do our best to ensure that justice prevails.”
While commenting on the rumoured taking over of the case by the Force Headquarters, the police boss said, “The headquarters is not taking over the matter. In any case, if the headquarters wants to take over the investigation, I don’t have options. I can’t stop them.
“I can’t say they should not take over, but there is no letter asking us to transfer the matter. We are proceeding with our investigation into the matter and we assure everyone that the mystery will be unravelled.”
In a related development, the Postmaster-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Postal Service, Dr Ismail Adebayo Adewusi, at the weekend assured the family of the deceased that justice would be pursued to its logical conclusion.
Adewusi, while visiting the mother of the deceased in the family compound in Eruwa, Oyo State on Saturday, appealed to the family to be confident that the death of their son would not be swept under the carpet. Adewusi said Timothy, who was his nephew, was a humble and focused professional and a pride to Eruwa.
He said the family would wait on the police to conduct its investigations diligently, but said that the case would be one of those the police would use to demonstrate to Nigerians that no crime is beyond its capacity to unravel.
Also, the senator representing Oyo South in the National Assembly, Senator Kola Balogun, called on the police to carry out thorough investigation into the murder.
Balogun, in a condolence message he sent to the family of the slain chartered accountant, released by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr Dapo Falade, described the killing of the late Adegoke as heinous and a great crime against humanity.
In the meantime, Adedoyin, has denied involvement in the death of Adegoke.
According to him, the first time he heard about Adegoke was when police declared the student missing.
Adedoyin, who spoke in Yoruba, stated that he worked hard for his wealth, urging people not to tag him as a “money ritualist or murderer”.