Tonto Dikeh, the Nollywood actress, has kicked against the recent statements of Hakeem Odumosu, Lagos commissioner of police, on the Sylvester Oromoni case.
Oromoni, a student of Dowen College Lagos, died last November after he was allegedly attacked by five colleagues.
His father claimed the 12-year-old was beaten and fed a liquid chemical that eventually led to his death,
Dowen had dismissed the claim, arguing that the boy sustained injuries while playing football with colleagues.
Odumosu had ordered a probe into the case while the school was sealed off by the ministry of education.
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 had revealed that the deceased died of “acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication”.
After the probe, Odumosu said findings had been forwarded to the state’s department of public prosecution (DPP).
A Lagos magistrate court then 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 elapsed.
In the DPP’s advice released to the press, 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.
Odumosu later said that Oromoni’s stomach contents showed he died naturally, not by chemical intoxication.
He added that neither the housemasters of the school nor the students can be prosecuted based on the evidence.
Reacting in a post via Instagram, Dikeh asked why the Lagos police played the role of a “law court” in the case.
“This is the height of injustice in Nigeria. What happened to the first Autopsy that was shared online? It was stated he died of acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication in a background of blunt force trauma,” the actress wrote.
“There is so much information in the first autopsy that isn’t in the second one. Why was the case not tried in court to determine who is guilty or not?
“Is Nigeria police now the court of law? Is it now the job of a commissioner of police to interpret an autopsy result.
“@lagostategoverment I am disappointed. @dowencollegelagos I am disguised at the fact that you are a school out for money alone but not for the children.”
The DPP, offering legal advice to the police, was created as a distinct office in the public service of the federation.
This autonomy gives it wide discretion in deciding whether to prosecute in any particular case or not.
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