The police in Kwara State have arranged four persons before the Kwara State Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin for the alleged murder of of a 21-year-old graduate of Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa, Awesu Mojisola. The persons brought before the court included a final-year student of Summit University, Offa, Adebayo Happiness.
The victim was, according to reports, killed inside a hotel room in Whitefield Hotel, Ilorin, Kwara State capital, by the prime suspect Happiness on August 10, 2024; he had decided the victim to attend a party in the state capital.
Other persons brought before the court were the parents of Happiness Adebayo Adeniyi (51) and Bukola Adeniyi (49) and another suspect who was believed to be his accomplice, 24-year-old Timileyin Kolawole.
The charges brought before the suspects include alleged criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, theft, false personation, and causing disappearance of evidence, which are against sections 97, 221, 287, 179 and 167 of the Penal Code Law and computer-related frauds contrary to sections 14(2) (3), 22 (2) (3) of Cybercrime Prevention and Prohibition Law 2015.
The prosecution, which was led by ASP Isaac Yakub, explained in court that the disappearance of the victim was reported by Blessing Ogungbenro at the Offa Police station. The disappeared person was reported to be her roommate. According to the report she was a graduating student at the Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa. She was last seen on Friday, August 9, 2024.
The prosecution explained that according to the report, the victim had got a call from Kolawole Timileyin to join her at a birthday party of Adebayo Joshua Happiness ‘m’, a final year student of Summit University Offa Kwara State who was requesting Mojisola to follow him to his sign out party holding at Whitefield Hotel, Ilorin for a fee of N15,000.
It was disclosed that the victim, Awesu Mojisola, agreed to the offer and has travelled to Offa to meet Adebayo Joshua Happiness at Ilorin lately. It was also disclosed that the victim had become uncomfortable with the prime suspect, Adebayo Joshua Happiness, because of the hemp that he was smoking in the room.
The prosecutor, while still speaking, noted that Awesu Mojisola’s phone suddenly became unreachable, and her whereabouts became unknown. According to him, the police swung into action immediately, which led to the arrest of the suspect who had been identified as one of the suspects in the crime.
He confirmed that the investigation of the police showed that Adebayo Joshua Happiness had taken the victim, Awesu Mojisola, from her base, Offa ti Ilorin, with the pretence that she was being invited for a joint signout party Summit and Al-Hikma Universities, which was said to be held at Whitefield Hotel but was later discovered to be fake.
The prime suspect had killed the victim on 10/08/2024, abandoned the body in the hotel room, and locked the door. He ran away with the victim’s phone, an iPhone 11 pro, and N15,600 to Offa.
After investigations by the police, the prime suspect, according to the prosecutor, confessed that he had decided to the victim to invite her to Offa. He disclosed that he had told the victim to come for a signout party at the Whitefield Hotel Ilorin. He confessed to killing the victim, abandoned the lifeless body of Awesu Mojisola in the hotel room, locked it and ran away with the phone and cash belonging to the victim.
In another criminal offence, the prosecution told the court that the mother of the prime suspect, Adeniyi Bukola, later assisted Happiness in removing the SIM card from the victim’s phone and hiding it in a fence block far away from their residence in the Ogunse area in Offa. Happiness’s father also kept the iPhone in a family car parked inside their compound.
The plea of the suspects was not taken.
The counsel to the defendants, Mr A. Iwalaye, pleased the court to grant the suspects bail, promising that they would not jump bail and be present in court on the days of appearance for the court proceedings. He also promised that the suspect would present sureties to stand for them in court.
Reacting to the plea, the prosecutor, ASP Isaac Yakub, spoke against the plea, citing that the case was criminal, which invited the loss of life.
Mr Wahab Saka, the Chief Magistrate, ordered the suspects to be remanded at the Federal Correctional Centre, Oke Kura, Ilorin. The case was adjourned to September 12, 2024, for further hearing.
