‘Help us get justice’ — Oromoni family begs Buhari after Lagos verdict

The Oromoni family has sought President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention in its case against Dowen College, Lagos.

Sylvester Oromoni, the late student of the Lekki-based school, died last November after he was allegedly attacked by five of his colleagues.

The 12-year-old’s father claimed his child was beaten and fed a liquid chemical that eventually led to his death.

Dowen College had dismissed the claim, alleging that the boy sustained injuries while playing football with colleagues.

Hakeem Odumosu, Lagos police commissioner, ordered a probe into the case while the school was sealed off.

Two autopsies were done on the deceased, one by the Delta police and the second by the force’s Lagos command.

The first autopsy earlier released to the public had revealed that the deceased died of “chemical intoxication”.

After a police probe, Odumosu said findings had been forwarded to the state’s department of public prosecution (DPP).

A Lagos magistrate court had granted bail to the five students charged with the alleged murder of the dead boy.

The police also released a housemaster and other staff of the school, saying the court order to detain them had elapsed.

In the DPP’s advice released on Wednesday, it was stated that the police investigation and the two autopsies conducted on the body of the deceased student failed to establish a prima facie case against the suspects.

Reacting to the verdict, the father of the deceased, in a statement, called on the president, human rights organisations and the inspector general of police to “help me get justice”.

“It is my belief and a shame on the Lagos state government to have allowed this kind of gang up against an innocent boy who died as a result of negligence from the management of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos,” he said.

“There is a clear oral statement from my son before he died and his schoolmates that he was tortured and given an unknown substance suspected to be poison which led to his death.

“The management of Dowen College always claimed that my late son sustained the injury while playing football. All evidence gathered so far has shown that this is not the true story but a way to cover up their negligence.”

The father alleged what he described as a “conspiracy among the officials of the Lagos state government and the police to cover up the circumstances surrounding the death of the schoolboy.”

“It is disheartening that in the DPP advice, the State of Lagos claims that the five suspects have no case to answer. In whose custody was my son Sylvester Oromoni Jnr. when the substance was forcefully administered to him?” he asked.

“I call on the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, inspector general of police, chairman National Human Rights Commission, civil society, international human right groups, and the general public to help me get justice.”

Oromoni’s father had earlier kicked against a statement attributed to Odumosu, implying that the first autopsy on their deceased son was not witnessed by the police.