DOWEN COLLEGE: Family hires Femi Falana over death of 12 years old student

…another parent narrates ordeal as RRS mounts school entrance

The family of the late 12-year-old Dowen College Student, Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, has hired the foremost human rights lawyer, Chief Femi Falana, to prosecute the unfortunate death of their son.

The lawyer has, therefore, written to the office of Lagos State’s chief coroner, requesting an inquest into the circumstances leading to the death of his client’s child.

The letter,  dated December 6, 2021,  was signed by Taiwo Olawale, and addressed to the chief coroner, High Court of Lagos State.

Entitled; “Request for Inquest into the Tragic Death of Sylvester Oromoni killed at Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos,” the letter stated that based on the briefings by the family, the late student died as a result of injuries allegedly inflicted on him by his seniors at the school.”

The letter reads in part: “Given the needless death of Sylvester Oromoni, we are compelled to request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner’s inquest to be conducted into the cause of death of this young and promising boy and make appropriate recommendations pursuant to Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007 which states that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his coroner district is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.

We hereby request your lordship to conduct an inquest into the circumstance surrounding this tragic death and we are confident that your lordship will accede to our request with utmost urgency.”

Meanwhile, a parent, identified as Nikky Ufondu has also narrated what she described  as a scary experience of her then 10-year-old son at the school in 2013.

Ufondu, on her Instagram page, said the boy had complained bitterly about his experiences in the hands of those he described as bullies, who he accused of robbing his son of his money, provisions, and other belongings.

The mother of three disclosed that she removed her son from the college after his first term in JSS1, accusing the school management of being concerned about school fees only and not the children’s wellbeing.

She added that her son’s case was not different from that of several other kids in the school, who she noted had faced similar bullying challenges and that she made the decision for his only son, whom she identified simply as Henry, to leave the college.

And just as the deceased’s father accused the school management of not asking after the late Oromoni junior, Ms. Ufondu also said: “After removing Henry, who is my only son, from the Dowen College, the school management never reached out to me, nor find out why I took my son away from the school; only his teacher who knew of the incident contacted me months after we withdrew the young man from the school.”

In a report by an online newspaper, the guild, Ms Ufondu added that: “I have to tell the story now. Maybe it would serve as a lesson to other parents and save several other innocent children currently in the same situation since we can no longer trust schools’ management.”

Similarlly, the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad RRS, of Lagos State Police Command has  explained why its patrol vehicles are stationed at the College.

According to RRS Commander, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, the operatives’  patrol vehicles will remain at the entrance of the school until further notice following the directive of the state Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu.