Lagos Vindicates Dowen Students, Staff Of Complicity In Oromoni’s Demise

Five students and five officials of Dowen College associated to the death of a 12-year-old student of the college, Sylvester Oromoni, have been vindicated by the Lagos State Government.

Also, vindicated was Kingsley Otuaro, the manager of the school building in Lekki.

The students cleared by the state government are 16-year-old Favour Benjamin, Edward Begue (16), Ansel Temile (14) and Kenneth Inyang (15) and 15-year-old Micheal Kashamu, the son of the late senator, Buruji Kashamu.

Officials cleared by the government through the Director of Public Prosecution are Celina Uduak, Valentine Igboekweze, Hammed Ayomo Bariyu, Adesanya Olusesan Olusegun and one Adeyemi.

The state also directed that all the suspects should be released if they are still in custody.

There had been reports that Oromoni died from injuries sustained in an attack by five senior students of the school for allegedly refusing to join their cult.

The 12-year-old boy died on November 30, 2020, after efforts to save his life failed.

Oromoni’s father had claimed that his child was beaten and fed a liquid chemical that eventually claimed his life.

But Dowen College had dismissed the claim, saying the boy sustained injuries while playing football with his colleagues.

Hakeem Odumosu, Lagos police commissioner, had thereafter 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”.

Following a police probe, Odumosu said findings had been forwarded to the DPP and a response had been received.

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

It added the interim and final autopsy reports issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and toxicology report of post-mortem samples revealed the cause of death as “Septicaemia, Lobar Pneumonia with Acute Pyelonephritis, Pyomyositis of the right ankle, and Acute Bacteria Pneumonia due to severe Sepsis”

According to the DPP report, there was no prima facie case of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and or malicious administering of poison with intent to harm [the deceased] against the five accused Dowen College students.

The state cleared the minors of belonging to unlawful society (cultism) due to insufficient facts to establish the claim.