Five Hotel Staff Members Arrested In Osun Over Professor’s Death

The Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has finally released five staff members of the Royal Spring Hotel in Osogbo, detained in connection with the death of an old man identified as Professor Moses Tanimowo.

Tanimowo was a retired professor of medicine at Osun State Teaching Hospital, who lodged at the facility.

SaharaReporters gathered that the staff members were released on Tuesday, August 12, after the family of the late professor brought an affidavit of withdrawal of the case from the police.

Mr Akintayo Emmanuel, a cousin of Tolulope Idowu, one of the detained hotel staff members, confirmed their release to SaharaReporters on Monday, thanking the medium for its earlier report, which, according to him, “put everyone connected to the matter on their toes”.

“My cousin and four of her colleagues have finally been released from police custody,” Akintayo said.

“On Tuesday evening, the police called us to bring surety to take them on bail. We had prepared our minds for going to court, but on Tuesday, around 3 pm, they were all released to go home.”

SaharaReporters reported on August 5 that the family of Tolulope Idowu, a staff member at the Royal Spring Hotel in Osogbo, Osun State, had raised an alarm over her detention for one month without being arraigned in court or having access to family members and lawyers.

Idowu and four other staff members were arrested on July 8, 2025, in connection with the death of Professor Tanimowo, who lodged in the hotel till August 12, when they were eventually released on bail.

The family earlier told SaharaReporters that the old man reportedly collapsed at the hotel and was rushed to a hospital, where he died two days later.

According to the account of the family, the hospital reportedly informed the hotel management that the old man was injecting himself with insulin because he was diabetic, but an autopsy later indicated that the cause of death was strangulation.

Although the family said they never saw the autopsy result but relied on what the police told them, they raised concerns over the credibility of the result since the man died in the hospital.

No member of the family was present during the autopsy examination.