Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, has picked holes in the ruling of Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri, the Coroner who investigated the death of Master Sylvester Oromoni, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos State.
Recall that Oromoni died on 30 November 2021.
Initially, his death was attributed to bullying and an alleged substance he was forced to drink in the school.
He reportedly said he was beaten up by five senior students of the College whose names were given as Favour Benjamin (16), Edward Begue (16), Ansel Temile (14), Kenneth Inyang and Michael Kashamu (16), son of late Senator Buruji Kashamu.
But on 5 January 2022, the Lagos State Government exonerated the five students and five employees of Dowen College, who were accused of contributing to the death of Oromoni.
In his ruling yesterday, Kadiri cleared the school and its students of any wrongdoings.
The inquest magistrate noted that Oromoni’s death was caused by septicaemia, a life-threatening health condition, caused by a patient’s body’s response to an infection, following infections of the lungs and kidneys arising from the ankle wound.
“No evidence of blunt force trauma in this body. The findings in the oesophagus and stomach are not compatible with chemical intoxication. Death, in this case, is natural,” he said.
Among the evidence the coroner relied on included the findings of two autopsies conducted on the deceased at the Central Hospital, Warri, Delta State, with only the family present, and at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) where about 10 pathologists representing various parties including the family, Lagos State Government and Dowen College, took part.
Sunday Soyemi, a medical doctor, who led the Lagos procedure, disclosed in the autopsy report that sepsis, which led to the death of the boy, could have been treated with “massive doses of intravenous antibiotic, intravenous fluid and blood transfusion,” but which was never done.
The corona blamed the death of the student on the negligence of the parents and the family doctor.
He absolved some students of Dowen College named in the incident saying they played no part in the death of Sylvester, and should not have been involved in the matter.
The Coroner also gave some recommendations to forestall further incidents of this sad nature. He advised parents not to take their children’s health with levity.
He also called for a synergy between the police and the medical team going forward as well as for the police force to ensure due caution before arrests are made.
He further recommended that the management of Dowen College should ensure proper documentation of entry and exit of students out of the hostel, as well as proper psychological evaluation for the 5 students suspected to have bullied the deceased.
In his reaction, Falana described as “curious” the fact that the corona ignored the evidence of the government pathologist that the “black substance” found in the stomach of the deceased was not subjected to toxicological examination.
In a statement issued yesterday after the ruling, Falana said 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, just in an attempt to exonerate the school.
Reacting to the ruling in a statement on Monday, Falana said “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 statement reads: “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.
“The acting director of public prosecution of Lagos State at the material 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 round 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 cause. 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.”
