The coroner’s inquest into the death of Master Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., a 12-year-old Dowen College pupil in Lekki, Lagos, concluded that he died of natural causes.
The coroner, Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri, concluded in a 255-page decision that lasted more than 7 hours on Monday that the deceased’s death was avoidable but occurred as a result of parental negligence.
Mikhail stated that the deceased endured preventable pain and unnecessary suffering till his death as a result of how his parents handled the situation.
Recall that Sylvester Oromoni Jr. reportedly died on November 30, 2021, at a private hospital in Warri, Delta, following purported health difficulties at Dowen College in Lagos.
Following his death, the Lagos State Government closed the school and convened a coroner’s inquest to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death. The inquest started in January 2022.
The Oromoni family claimed that the student died of injuries sustained as a result of bullying by five senior students at the college.
The family also stated that the school did not treat him in a hospital.
While delivering the verdict, Magistrate Kadiri stated that the purpose of an inquest is to determine how a deceased person died and the circumstances surrounding his death.
He added that the facts and reports of the two experts who did the late Oromoni Jr.’s autopsy indicated that he died of severe septicemia (sepsis) caused by an infection.
“I do not believe the version of the family doctor, Henry Aghogho.
He did not provide the required duty of care for the patient whose home care treatment was “trivialised.”. Despite the early diagnosis, the doctor was found to have abandoned the deceased for more than 32 hours and didn’t carry out an X-ray and scan early enough, which would have revealed his deteriorating condition.
Despite the deceased’s condition, he completely neglected the victim. The clinical records show that he did not give quality treatment to the deceased, which also exposed the lies behind his evidence.
“Having examined the evidence tendered by all witnesses, I have come to the conclusion that the deceased died of a natural cause.
“Despite the alleged accusations of the deceased that he was beaten and bullied, it was not proven because all the accused persons denied it.
All the students involved denied the allegations, while some of them were not in school when the incident occurred, as they claimed to be border students who don’t even stay in school during the weekends.
“Therefore, the evidence of the sister could not be relied on because it was based on hearsay from the brother.”
The Magistrate further held that Oromoni Jr.’s death may have been avoided if parental carelessness had not occurred.
“The parents didn’t take him to any hospital in Lagos, despite the fact that they have a house there.
They took him to Warri in Delta State and were negligent in how they handled the deceased sickness; there was a long period of days whereby the boy could have been treated appropriately.
“He went through avoidable excruciating pain and needless suffering until his death. The pupils alleged to have bullied him played no part in the death of the deceased, according to all the evidence before the court.
In fact, Edward and Kenneth should not have been in the path of this whole case because they were not even in school when the incident occurred.
Also, no Dowen staff played any role in the deceased’s death.”
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However, the Coroner Magistrate cautioned parents not to take their children’s health lightly, and that there should be more coordination between the police and medical teams in such cases.
He also urged for a full psychological evaluation of the five students suspected of bullying the deceased, citing the stress they may be experiencing as a result of the allegations.
