According to the father of the deceased, Dr. Michael Adeyemi Adeniran, she had no health condition and was not ill at the time the school bus picked her up for the event.
The Chambers of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana have requested an inquest into the death of a 12-year student of Chrisland schools, Whitney Adeniran.
SaharaReporters had reported that Whitney died during the school’s inter-house sports competition at Agege Stadium in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria on Thursday.
According to the father of the deceased, Dr. Michael Adeyemi Adeniran, she had no health condition and was not ill at the time the school bus picked her up for the event.
Adeniran added that no explanation was given to him and his wife by the school regarding their daughter's death.
He said his wife was present at the stadium, but the school did not call her attention to the incident immediately.
Adeniran subsequently called on the Lagos State Government and the police to look into the matter and ensure that justice is done.
He asked why the school had no ambulance or paramedics at the event, except for a “quack” nurse whom he said confessed that the child died at the stadium.
But Falana of Falana & Falana’s Chambers in a letter dated February 14, 2023 and signed by a legal practitioner, Taiwo Olawanle on behalf of the law firm, urged the Chief Coroner to use “your good offices to cause a coroner’s inquest to be conducted into the cause of the death of this sudden but avoidable death of this young promising girl and make appropriate recommendations under Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007 which provides 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 also read, “We are a firm of legal practitioners committed to the defence of human rights, rule of law and public accountability in Nigeria.
“We have been engaged by the family of the late Whitney Adeniran to facilitate the unraveling of the mystery behind her sudden death at Chrisland International High School, Opebi, Lagos on Thursday, February 9, 2023.
“It was alleged that the young girl went to school on the day with no sign of any ailment only for the parents to get to know later that she had passed on without any justifiable explanation from the school management.
“Please Your Lordship, accept the assurances of the highest regards of our principal, Mr Femi Falana, SAN.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, the state government ordered a coroner’s inquest into the death of the schoolgirl.
The public affairs unit of the state’s justice ministry said the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), gave the directive on Monday.
The statement from the public affairs unit said, “A Coroner’s Inquest has immediately been requested, in line with sections 14 and 15 of the Coroners’ Systems Law, Laws of Lagos State 2015, to determine the cause and circumstances of death.”
Onigbanjo added that the findings of the investigation “will be made public in due course and appropriate sanctions meted out to anyone found culpable”.
This comes after the state education ministry ordered the temporary closure of the school following the tragedy.
A release signed by the state education commissioner, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo said the closure was ordered pending the outcome of a full investigation into the unfortunate incident.
Claims Of Electrocution
A yet-to-be-identified student of the school also alleged that the victim died from electrocution.
The student who made the claim in viral audio said Whitney died as a result of a naked wire from one cotton candy vendor machine after she mistakenly touched it.
“We went for inter-house sport and in my own school, we do go to the stadium. In the stadium, there are machines like cotton candy vendor machine, popcorn machine and stuff like that.
“So Whitney always buys like popcorn, so she went there, she was so excited for inter-house sport, you know and she now mistakenly touched the cotton candy vendor machine, she now got electrocuted and then she now fainted.
“Her mouth was foaming; her veins were popping. Her tongue just disappeared. They now poured water on her and took her to the back,” the purported student said in the audio.