Lagos State Coroner, Justice Mojisola Dada, will hold a preliminary meeting with activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) on Wednesday on an inquest on the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni at the Dowen College in Lekki, Lagos.
The meeting was scheduled following Falana’s request for an inquest to unravel circumstances surrounding Oromoni’s death.
The meeting will hold in Epe.
The letter inviting Falana to the meeting, dated December 7, 2021, was signed by the Epe District Coroner, Mikhail Olukayode Kadiri.
Also on Tuesday, the House of Representatives asked the Inspector-General of Police to take over the investigation.
The House also asked the Federal Ministry of Education to set out guidelines for the operations of boarding schools.
Also, the Lagos Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu has revealed that three students of the Dowen College have been arrested over Sylvester Oromoni’s death.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, on Tuesday, confirmed that three out of the five students who were named in connection to Sylvester Oromoni’s death are already in custody, while two are currently at large.
It would be recalled that the parents of the late Sylvester Oromoni had said their son before his death, mentioned the names of five senior students, who allegedly tortured and beat him up for refusing to join a cult group in the school.
Following the death of the 12-year-old student of the school located in Lekki, Lagos, three students, suspected to be involved in the alleged torture of the boy on Tuesday, visited the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba in Lagos for questioning.
Meanwhile, late Oromoni died of complications last week as a result of injuries he sustained after he was allegedly attacked by the senior students.
Why Femi Falana?
The family of Sylvester Oromoni (Jnr), on on Monday hired the firm of a foremost human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, to prosecute its case against the institution over the death of their son.
Falana had written a letter 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 was dated December 6, 2021, signed by Taiwo Olawale, and addressed to the chief coroner, High Court of Lagos State.
The letter, titled ‘Request for Inquest into the Tragic Death of Sylvester Oromoni killed at Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos,’ said 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.”
“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 that 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,” the letter read in part.
“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.”