Bowen College Lekki Lagos, has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the 2021 death of their student Sylvester Oromoni by Coroner, Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri.
The death of 12 years-old Oromoni was adjudged to be by natural causes and not by bullying as it was alleged when he passed away.
In his delivery of judgement Magistrate Kadiri ruled that the death was as a result of negligence by Oromoni’s parents who failed to make him available for prompt medical treatment of a kidney condition. He absolved the senior students of Bowen college who were accused of bullying the youngster.
But reacting to the report Human Rights activist and frontline lawyer Femi Falana SAN said Monday that the Coroner Inquest disregarded further toxicological examinations and substances found in the stomach of the late Oromoni.
“It is curious that the coroner ignored the evidence of the government pathologist that the “black substance” found in the stomach of the deceased was not subjected to toxicological examination. The allegation was that the deceased was forced to drink a poisonous substance,” Falana said.
“The Acting Director of Public Prosecution of Lagos State at the time had recommended that some staff and students be prosecuted for criminal negligence over the bullying of students in the school. Four days later, the Acting DPP turned around to say that there was no case to answer without any fresh evidence from the police investigators. The coroner ruled that the acting DPP has the power to withdraw her recommendations at any time!
“The doctors who testified stated that the deceased died of sepsis and that the sepsis could have been caused by excessive massaging of the leg of the deceased. The coroner conveniently overlooked the fact that the school doctor and the nurses massaged the leg of the deceased for two days before inviting his parents to take him home.
“In an attempt to exonerate Dowen College, the coroner was silent on the overwhelming evidence of the bullying of the deceased, his sister, and other students by the same set of students. In particular, the coroner discountenanced the evidence of a student who had testified that he saw the deceased beaten up and subjected to torture by a group of senior students.
“In spite of such uncontradicted evidence, the coroner said that the deceased died of natural causes. The coroner claimed that the negligence of the family doctor led to the death of the deceased but failed to refer him to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for appropriate sanctions.”
