How I Turned Down N71 Million to Get Justice for My Murdered Husband

Patrick OdeyJune 4, 2023

2 minutes read

Imagine losing your husband in a brutal murder plot orchestrated by a hotel owner and his staff. Imagine being offered a huge sum of money to drop the case and forget about your husband’s killers. Imagine having to endure years of threats, intimidation, and harassment from the murderers and their accomplices.

That’s what Bolatito Adegoke had to go through after her husband, Timothy Adegoke, a Master’s student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, went missing in 2010. His body was later found in a shallow grave in a bush in Ile-Ife.

In an exclusive interview with The Nation newspaper, Bolatito revealed how she rejected the N71 million bribe offered to her by the owner of the Hilton Hotel in Ile-Ife, Rahmon Adedoyin, who was convicted last week for the murder of her husband along with two of his staff. They were sentenced to death by the Chief Judge of Osun State, Oyebola Ojo.

Bolatito said she was determined to get justice for her husband, who was killed while on a trip for his post-graduate programme at the university. She said she was not interested in the money but in seeing her husband’s killers pay for their crime.

“I was once offered a bribe of N71 million to withdraw the case against Adedoyin, but I rejected it. They offered the same to my husband’s elder brother, which he rejected. They started threatening him, but God took all the glory.

“The person that was sent to us said the money was for us to forget the case. He promised to get us a shop so that I would be selling goods. I told the person that I was not interested in the money but justice for my late husband,” Bolatito said.

She said she was happy with the outcome of the case, which restored her faith in the Nigerian judiciary. She said she was praying inside a church when she heard about the judgment.

“Yes, my hope in the judiciary with this case has been rekindled. Some people are casting doubt that he (Adedoyin) might be replaced in prison, but I told them that God, who started His work, would finish it. I don’t have any problem with that. My confidence is in God. He stood by me, fought for me and vindicated me.

“I was inside a church praying when I was informed about the judgment. Although I wept, I give thanks to God. He showed himself strong in this matter. He backed me to get justice. I would have been happier if my husband had come back to life after the judgment.

“God is faithful! Over my children’s welfare,the decision of the court should be respected, because my husband prioritised their well-being. They must be taken good care of. I really appreciate the journalists, Femi Falana, SAN, and all the well-meaning Nigerians who stood for and by me.”

Bolatito said life has been hard for her and her children since her husband’s death. She said she has no job and has been surviving on the little fund that was raised for her. She said she has been looking for a job but could not find any.

“I don’t have a job. I have been looking for a job, but I could not find any. The mercy of God has been sustaining me and my children. The people that promised me job never fulfilled it. The little fund that was raised for me was what my children and I have been surviving on. I also pay their school fees from it. God has been faithful to us.”