Oromoni: Father alleges cover-up by Lagos, police as court invites more witnesses

The father of Sylvester Oromoni (Jnr), the late student of Dowen College, has accused the police and the Lagos state directorate of public prosecutions (DPP) of attempt to cover-up the case.

According to NAN, Oromoni (Snr) spoke on Tuesday at the Ikeja coroner’s court, while being cross-examined by Akin George, counsel to the Lagos state government.

Oromoni (Jnr) died last November after he was alleged to have been beaten by five colleagues for refusing to join a cult.

His father had claimed he was attacked and fed a liquid chemical that eventually led to his death.

The school, however, dismissed the claim and alleged that the boy sustained injuries while playing football.

Consequently, a coroner’s inquest was constituted to address the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

During Tuesday’s sitting, Oromomi (Snr) questioned why the five senior students of Dowen College earlier arrested in connection to his son’s death were “exonerated” and released based on DPP’s directive 14 days into the 21-day remand order given by a Yaba magistrates’ court.

“There is a massive cover-up and it is clearly here (in the police report). A Magistrates’ Court in Yaba requested 21 days and after the 14 day, the boys were granted bail when the police were not done with their investigations,” he said.

“When I saw the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (Hakeem Odumosu) and told him about it, he told me that, that was not true that they were not done with their investigations.

“He even said that on the day it was said that they had released those boys, the courts were not sitting. I then called the Deputy Commissioner of Police, he told me the same thing and told me to give him sometime.

“After about two to four minutes, he called me back and he confirmed it, that they were given 21 days for their investigations and the boys had just spent 14 days in detention.

“They (police) said they were going to write a protest letter. They were already interrogating two of the students and revelations were coming out so they were taken by surprise.

“The same Commissioner of Police, after some days now publicly declared that at the instance of Mr Governor, the Attorney-General and the DPP, said there was nothing wrong with the boys therefore they’ve released them.”

The late student’s father also argued that the police did not conclude its investigation before releasing the five students.

“At what point did they complete their investigation, give all the case files to the DPP to go through and the DPP to come up with their report?” he queried.

“This is why I am saying there is a very massive conspiracy going on.”

The development comes as the court disclosed that it would invite more witnesses in the case.

Mikhail Kadiri, the coroner, announced this at the conclusion of the proceedings. He said the inquest is a fact-finding exercise and a lot of questions would need to be answered.

Witnesses to be summoned by the coroner include roommates of the late student at Dowen College, the investigating police officer (IPO) of the case in Warri, Delta, and the Dowen College nurse that attended to the deceased.

Other witnesses to be invited include Opudu Boro, a friend to the Oromoni family, two independent pathologists and Clement Vhriterhire, the doctor who performed the first autopsy on the late student in Warri.

Also to be invited are students who allegedly played football with the deceased in school on the day he was said to have sustained an ankle injury.

Kadiri thereafter adjourned proceedings till February 21 for continuation of hearing.