Skip to main content

Sylvester Oromoni's Family, Police Disagree Over Release Of Dowen College Workers

He affirmed that there was a need for them to have their freedom since the medical report had not indicted them so far.

The family of the late Sylvester Oromoni has knocked the Lagos State Police Command for releasing the housemaster and other staff of Dowen College, Lekki.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, on Friday said that the housemasters had been released since the court order to remand them had expired.

Image

He affirmed that there was a need for them to have their freedom since the medical report had not indicted them so far.

He said, “The corpse was brought from Delta to Lagos. The post-mortem was carried out in Lagos. The result is out. As of now, it has not brought out the issue of murder on anybody (sic).

”Toxicology is still to be carried out which is the final one. The interim one has not. Based on that, the court order we got has elapsed and we have released the housemaster and others on bail as of yesterday (Thursday) because they have not been indicted of murder. It is only murder cases that are not subject to bail.

“Since the medical report has not indicted them so far, I think there is a need for them to have their freedom because bail is not the end of the case.”

Odumosu explained that the police had concluded its investigations and forwarded its report to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and had received a response from the DPP.

However, Sylvester’s father disagreed with the police's decision, stressing that it was wrong to have released the Dowen College workers when things had not reached a logical conclusion.

Mr Oromoni, who dared the police to make the autopsy report public, argued that it was strange that the law enforcement agency while still awaiting the toxicology report, could go ahead to declare that murder had not been established.

He said, “We knew this would happen and that was why we called on the Inspector-General of Police to take over. We have our own autopsy report from Warri. The report was handed over to the police in Delta and we are relying on it.

“The police have misled the Nigerian public and we are not comfortable with this. The police acted hurriedly. We sent the corpse to Lagos but why are they waiting for the toxicology report from Delta? Can’t they do it together with the autopsy they are conducting?”

On November 30, 2021, Sylvester, a 12-year-old JSS 2 student of the school, died under controversial circumstances

The management of the school had insisted that the boy passed away after sustaining a leg injury.

However, the family revealed that their son was brutalised by bullies and a substance was forced down his throat.

Meanwhile, an autopsy conducted by the Consultant Pathologist, Dr Clement Vhriterhire, at the Central Hospital, Warri, concluded that Sylvester died of “acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication in a background of blunt force trauma.”

The student’s corpse was conveyed to Lagos and a fresh autopsy was ordered by the police.