Lagos Government Visits Dowen College, Promises To Probe Death Of Sylvester Oromoni

Lagos State Government has reacted to the controversy tailing the tragic death of a 12-year-old student of Dowen College in Lekki, Sylvester Oromoni Junior, who was allegedly killed by his colleagues for refusing to join a cult group.

KanyiDaily recalls that a cousin of the deceased, Perrison Onomoni, who broke the news on his Twitter handle, had alleged that Sylvester was beaten to death by five students over his refusal to join their cult group.

Perrison explained that the boy was battered on Friday but later died on Tuesday after a series of tests and X-rays indicated that he sustained internal injuries.

He said that after Sylvester’s death, the school management had reached out to the deceased’s father and told him that his boy sustained injuries while playing football at the school.

Reacting to the allegation, Dowen College debunked claims that Sylvester was beaten to death by suspected cultists in the school, claiming that the deceased sustained injuries while playing football.

The Management of Dowen College insisted that preliminary investigation conducted by the school authorities revealed that there was no fighting, bullying or any form of attack on Sylvester.

The school claimed that one of the hostel parents reported that the boy was injured while playing football, and a resident registered nurse immediately administered first aid on him and later called the student’s mother to inform her of the situation.

Subsequently, the student complained of having pains in his hip and was attended to again, this time by a doctor and a nurse, and thereafter the resident doctor called his mother requesting that she come for him so that he could get further medical attention.

The school further said it had carried out a preliminary investigation before the boy’s death and confirmed that there was no case of bullying as no part of his body was broken or injured, adding that it has policies that are strongly anti-cultism.

Lagos To Probe Death Of Dowen College Student

Reacting to the controversy in a statement on Friday, November 3, the spokesman of the Ministry of Education, Ganiu Lawal, said the Lagos state government would unravel the circumstances behind the death of the 12-year-old student of Dowen College.

The government also sympathized with the family of Sylvester Oromoni, noting that delegates had been sent to the school to investigate the shocking incident, adding that the state was indeed sad about this great loss.

The statement read in part: “The Lagos State Government sends its condolences to the parents of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., a student of Dowen College, Lekki.

“The Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, notes that this incident is shocking and the State is indeed sad about this great loss.

“A delegation comprising top level management of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the Police, has visited the school on a fact-finding mission.

“The State Government is in touch with the parents in this difficult time.

“We reassure the family of the late Sylvester Oromoni Junior and Lagosians at large that efforts are being made to unravel the circumstances leading to his demise, even as we reiterate the Government’s commitment to Child Protection.”

Meanwhile, the management of Dowen College has announced that the school will shut down its academic operations for two days due to the continued outrage tailing the death of the student.