THE Lagos State government has ordered the closure of Dowen College, Lekki, over the death of a 12-year-old student, Sylvester Oromoni Jr. The government also promised to probe the death of the schoolboy.
Oromoni, the last of his parents’ five children, was said to have died as a result of internal injuries he sustained from beating by his schoolmates who wanted to coerce him into joining a cult group, an allegation which the school has denied.
A video showing the boy with injured mouth and swollen legs and stomach and writhing in pain also went viral on Friday with the exact cause of his death still unknown at the time of filing this report.
The state government announced the closure of the school on Friday in a statement made available to newsmen by the head of the public affairs unit of the Ministry of Education, Mr Ganiu Lawal.
The statement was the second one issued by the state government on the matter within a space of two hours.
According to the statement, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, announced the closure after a meeting with the school’s management and staff.
“The commissioner called for calm, saying no effort will be spared in getting to the root of the incident,” it said.
The statement quoted the commissioner as describing the incident as shocking and saddening for the state.
“But a delegation comprising top-level management of relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government and the police has visited the school on a fact-finding mission.
“The preliminary investigations revealed that Sylvester Oromoni Junior was indeed enrolled as a student of Dowen College in its boarding facility and had been treated by the school’s medical personnel before the school requested that the parents take him away for further care.
“So, the state government is in touch with the parents in this difficult time.
“And we reassure the family of the late Sylvester Oromoni Junior and Lagosians at large that efforts are being made to unravel the circumstances leading to his demise, even as we reiterate the government’s commitment to child protection,” the statement added.
Sylvester Oromoni, the father of the deceased boy, had alleged that his son’s assailants beat him up for refusing to join their cult. Oromoni told TheCable that bullies had also asked his son to describe his sister’s privates.
“They put fear in him so much so that, when you ask him, he might keep to himself and say, ‘they will kill me’. This way, we didn’t know what to do,” he said.
Oromoni said his late son would have turned 13 today (December 4), adding that he would still bake a cake in his honour.
Meanwhile an Ilorin, Kwara State-based non-governmental organisation, Torchbearers Impact Network (TIN), called on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to investigate the death of the schoolboy.
TIN also called on the Lagos State government to take active interest in the matter, “just the way Kwara State government handled the Madrassah flogging incident in the Ganmo area of the state capital recently.”
According to a statement by the executive director of the group, Ibraheem Abdullateef, there is a growing trend in secondary schools in the country where young people meet their tragic end without detailed inquests by relevant authorities.
The group said the narrative that the boy died from an injury sustained while playing football should also be looked into to ascertain all facts in the matter.
It said: “This must be deeply investigated to right whatever wrongs and ensure that the culprits are prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
“Oromoni Jr. reportedly mentioned some names before he died, according to the cousin, Perrison Oromoni, which was reported in the media.
“Dowen College and the parents should cooperate with the police in their investigations.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Lagos Is Second Least Liveable City In The World For 2021
Lagos is the second least liveable city in the world for the year 2021. This is according to the most recent annual ranking put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)…
CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights.
VERDICT: MISLEADING!
