Four people, including a final-year Summit University student from Offa, Adebayo Happiness, were charged with the alleged murder of Awesu Mojisola, a 21-year-old graduate of the state College of Health Technology, on Tuesday at a Kwara State Chief Magistrate Court in Ilorin.
Happiness allegedly murdered Mojisola on August 10, 2024, inside a room at the Whitefield Hotel in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, after tricking her into attending a bungled post-graduation party.
Happiness was charged alongside his parents, Adebayo Adeniyi (51) and Bukola Adeniyi (49), as well as an accomplice, 24-year-old Timileyin Kolawole.
They were accused in court with alleged criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, theft, false personation, and causing evidence disappearance in violation of Sections 97, 221, 287, 179, and 167 of the Penal Code Law, as well as computer-related frauds in violation of Sections 14(2)(3), 22(2)(3) of Cybercrime Prevention and Prohibition Law 2015.
The prosecution, led by ASP Isaac Yakub, told the court that on August 14, 2024, one Blessing Ogungbenro reported at the Offa Police Station that her roommate, Awesu Mojisola, a graduating student of the Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa, had been missing since Friday, August 9, 2024.
She told her that she received a phone call from one Kolawola Timileyin’ joining her to one 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 the Whitefield hotel, Ilorin, for a fee of N15,000.
“Awesu Mojisola later accepted the offer and left Offa to meet up with Adebayo Joshua Happiness at Ilorin lately, and while Awesu Mojisola was with Adebayo Joshua Happiness, she complained of being uncomfortable with Adebayo Joshua Happiness in the hotel room that she was in because Adebayo Joshua Happiness was smoking hemp.
“Thereafter, Awesu Mojisola’s phone suddenly became unreachable and her whereabouts became unknown, adding that immediate police action led to the arrest of Adebayo Joshua Hoppiness, who was fingered in the sudden disappearance of Awesu Mojisola.”
He said further, “During an investigation, it was revealed that Adebayo Joshua Happiness had deliberately lured Awesu Mojisola from Offa to Ilorin on the pretence of inviting her for a joint sign-out party of Summit and Al-Hikma Universities purported to be holding at the Whitefield Hotel, but it was fake.
“In the early hours of 10/08/2024, Adebayo Joshua Happiness killed and abandoned the lifeless body of Awesu Mojisola in the hotel room, locked the room, and ran away with Mojisola Awesu’s iPhone 11 Pro and her sum of N15,600 to Offa.”
Happiness was said to have confessed during the discreet investigation that he lured Mojisola to Ilorin from Offa by falsely informing her that there was a sign-out party at the Whitefield Hotel Ilorin, murdered her, abandoned her lifeless body in the hotel room, locked it, and fled to Offa with her money and iPhone.
The prosecution also told the court that the prime suspect’s mother, Adeniyi Bukola, later helped Happiness remove the SIM card from the victim’s phone and hide it in a fence block far away from their residence in the Ogunse area of Offa, while Happiness’ father helped keep the iPhone in a family car parked within their compound.
However, the court did not take the plea of the suspects.
Mr. A. Iwalaye, the defence attorney, pleaded with the court to grant all of the suspects bail, stating that they would not jump bail and would present regularly at the sessions and that “they are ready to provide reliable sureties to stand for them in court.”
However, the prosecution objected to the plea, claiming that the case was criminal in nature and entailed the termination of human life.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Wahab Saka, then directed that the suspects be remanded at the Federal Correctional Centre in Oke Kura, Ilorin.
The matter was adjourned to September 12, 2024, for further hearing.
