Headline

Owner Of Hotel Where OAU Master’s Student Died Finally Breaks Silence From Detention

Published

4 years ago

November 19, 2021

The owner of Hilton Hotel and Resort, Ile-Ife, Ramon Adedoyin, has denied involvement in the death of a Master’s student at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Timothy Adegoke.

Adedoyin, who is currently detained by Osun State Police Command over Adegoke’s death, noted that he did not connive with his workers or anyone to kill the student.

According to him, the first time he heard about Adegoke was when police declared the student missing.

The PUNCH had reported that Adegoke went to Ile-Ife to sit for an exam at the OAU Distance Learning Centre, Moro campus, when he was declared missing on November 7.

Adegoke’s body was discovered after some suspects, including workers at the hotel, were arrested by the police.

It was learnt that Adegoke had lodged in Hilton 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.

The police later announced that the student had been found dead without giving details of how, when, and where he was found.

Adegoke was said to have lodged in the hotel on Friday, November 5 preceding his examinations scheduled for Saturday, November 6, and Sunday, November 7.

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”.

In an audio message obtained by our correspondent and confirmed by one of his aides, the hotel owner appealed to the public to await police investigation on the matter.

He said, “I, Rahmon Adedoyin is not a murderer or money ritualist. God already blessed and enriched me since I was 26 years old and up till now that I am 65 years old.

“I have never killed anyone. I am a devout Muslim. Adegoke lodged at Hilton Hotel, Room 305. The hotel officials that lodged him did not pay any money in his name into the hotel’s account.

“There was also no record that he paid into the hotel’s WEMA Bank account. I don’t know how he was given a room without making payment into the official account of the company. I don’t know why they decided to receive the payment into their personal account.

“I was only informed that something like that happened at the Hilton Hotel when police started searching for Timothy. I know nothing about his death.

“When they (police) investigated and found where Timothy’s corpse was dumped, senior police officers checked his body and confirmed that no part of his body was missing. I did not ask them to get any of his body parts.

“I appeal to everyone to be patient and allow police to do their work and thorough investigation.

“I had my humble beginning from Ile-Ife. I started as a home lesson teacher, founded universal college of tech, a polytechnic and then university.

“I never left Ile-Ife before God blessed me and made me rich. My wealth is pure. I am not spending blood money.”

Adedoyin and his worker, Adedeji Adesola, were earlier accused of being involved in the disappearance of Adegoke.

It was learnt that the hotel worker initially denied that Adegoke lodged in the hotel until evidence surfaced that he paid into Adesola’s account.

However, Osun State Police Command on Thursday said no part of the deceased missed when the corpse was exhumed.
Featuring during a programme monitored on Fresh FM, in Osogbo on Thursday, the command’s spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, also said Adedoyin was arrested after investigation revealed that the late Adegoke checked into the facility before he was declared missing.

Opalola, who also claimed the corpse of the deceased was exhumed in the presence of his family members, said the remains were later deposited at the morgue of Obafemi Awolowo University, Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife for autopsy.

The PUNCH had also reported that the hotel had been shut down.

Headline

Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

Headline

Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.

Headline

US Makes U-turn, To Attend G20 Summit In South Africa

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

In an 11th-hour about-turn, the United States has told South Africa it wants to take part in this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday.

President Donald Trump’s administration had said it would not take part in the November 22-23 meeting and that no final statement by G20 leaders could be issued without its presence.

It has clashed with South Africa over various international and domestic policies this year, extending its objections to Pretoria’s G20 priorities for the meeting of leading economies being held for the first time in Africa.

“We have received notice from the United States, a notice which we are still in discussions with them over, about a change of mind about participating in one shape, form or other in the summit,” Ramaphosa told reporters.

“This comes at the late hour before the summit begins. And so therefore, we do need to engage in those types of discussions to see how practical it is and what it finally really means,” he said.

There was no immediate confirmation from US officials.

Ramaphosa said: “We still need to engage with them to understand fully what their participation at the 11th hour means and how it will manifest itself.”

In a note to the government on Saturday, the US embassy repeated that it would not attend the summit, saying South Africa’s G20 priorities “run counter to the US policy views and we cannot support consensus on any documents negotiated under your presidency”.

Ramaphosa said earlier Thursday that South Africa would not be bullied.

“It cannot be that a country’s geographical location or income or army determines who has a voice and who is spoken down to,” he told delegates at a G20 curtain-raiser event.

There “should be no bullying of one nation by another”, he said.

– ‘Positive sign’ –
Ramaphosa said the apparent change of heart was “a positive sign”.

“All countries are here, and the United States, the biggest economy in the world, needs to be here,” he said.

South Africa chose “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” as the theme of its presidency of the G20, which comprises 19 countries and two regional bodies, the European Union and the African Union.

Its agenda focuses on strengthening disaster resilience, improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a “just energy transition” and harnessing “critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development”.

After early objections from Washington, it vowed to press on with its programme and its aim to find consensus on a leaders’ statement on the outcome of the discussions.

“We will not be told by anyone who is absent that we cannot adopt a declaration or make any decisions at the summit,” Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Thursday.

Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment on a number of issues since he returned to the White House in January, notably making debunked claims of white Afrikaners being systematically “killed and slaughtered” in the country.

He expelled South Africa’s ambassador in March and has imposed 30 percent trade tariffs, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

US businesses were well represented at a separate Business 20 (B20) event that wound up in Johannesburg Thursday.

The head of the US Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, thanked South Africa for fostering “real collaboration between G20 nations during a time of rapid change” during its rotating presidency, which transfers to the United States for 2026.

“The US Chamber of Commerce will use our B20 leadership to foster international collaboration,” Clark said.

The United States has significant business interests in South Africa with more than 600 US companies operating in the country, according to the South African embassy in Washington.

G20 members account for 85 percent of global GDP and around two-thirds of the world’s population.