The family of late Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, 12-year-old late student of Dowen College that was allegedly bullied by his seniors, has hired the firm of human rights’ lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, to prosecute the case against the institution over the unfortunate death of their son.
According to a report by Premium Times, the Falana Chambers has since written to the office of Lagos State’s chief coroner, requesting an inquest into the circumstances leading to the death of the child.
The letter, which was dated December 6, 2021, and signed by Taiwo Olawale, was specifically addressed to the chief coroner, high court of Lagos State.
It was titled; “Request for Inquest into the Tragic Death of Sylvester Oromoni killed at Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos.”
The lawyer noted that based on the briefings by the family, the late student died as a result of injuries allegedly inflicted on him by his seniors at the school.
The letter reads in part: “Given the needless death of Sylvester Oromoni, we are compelled to request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner’s inquest to be conducted into the cause of death of this young and promising boy and make appropriate recommendations pursuant to Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007 that states that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his coroner district is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.
“We hereby request your lordship to conduct an inquest into the circumstance surrounding this tragic death and we are confident that your lordship will accede to our request with utmost urgency.”
Recall that the parents of the deceased petitioned the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu seeking a proper investigation into their son’s death.
Meanwhile, a lady, Nikky Ufondu who claimed her son was enrolled in the school has taken to her Instagram page to narrate what she described as a scary experience of her then 10-year-old son at the school in 2013.
According to Ufondu, her son had complained bitterly about his experiences in the hands of those he described as bullies, who he accused of robbing his son of his money, provisions and other belongings.
She also said the bullying forced her to remove her son from the college after his first term in JSS1, accusing the school management of being concerned about school fees only and not the children’s wellbeing.
She added that her son’s case was not different from that of several other kids in the school, who she noted had faced similar bullying challenges and that she made the decision for her only son, whom she identified simply as Henry, to leave the college.
And just as the deceased’s father accused the school management of not asking after the late Oromoni junior, Ufondu also said, “After removing Henry, who is my only son, from the Dowen College, the school management never reached out to me, nor find out why I took my son away from the school; only his teacher who knew of the incident contacted me months after we withdrew the young man from the school.”
The death of the 12-year-old became of public knowledge when a relation to the deceased, Perris Oromoni said on social media that his cousin was beaten to death at Dowen College.
This attracted outrage from Nigerians with many demanding justice for the young boy.
Others called on parents to withdraw their children from the school following the incident.
The school in its reaction to the incident claimed that the deceased sustained injuries while playing football and was given immediate medical attention by its resident nurse.
Subsequently, the student complained of having pains in his hip and was attended to again by a doctor and nurse and thereafter taken to his house, the school said.
The victim’s cousin thereafter released photos and video evidence, showing Sylvester was bullied and beaten, leading to his death.
The video shared by the family of the boy before his death showed him in pain.
The deceased was also said to have been forced to drink an unknown substance by the bullies.
The father of the late student had alleged that the parents of pupils responsible for torturing his son had made arrangements for them to fly out of the country.
In another statement, the school claimed it was ready to work with the authorities during investigation into the matter particularly with the closure of the school by the Lagos state government.
