Facts are emerging on how Sylvester Oromoni, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, located in Lekki area of Lagos State, was allegedly murdered by some cult groups.
The deceased was said to have been alleged assaulted by some cult groups according to a Guardian report, who he identified before his death, as students of the college for refusing to join the fraternity.
He was admitted in a Lagos hospital on Friday following the attack and confirmed dead on Tuesday.
A relation of the deceased, Perrison Oromoni, took to the micro blogging site, Twitter on Wednesday, to announce his demise.
He revealed that the 12-year-old passed away on Tuesday after a series of tests and X-rays indicated that he sustained internal injuries from severe beating.
But Dowen College, who reached out to the family, said his injuries were sustained while playing football.
Speaking further on the issue, Perrison said: “We’re from Delta State, but he goes to Dowen College in Lekki.
They called my uncle because his son was injured when he was playing football. Reaching the hospital, it was confirmed that he was being bullied and beaten up, causing internal damages.
“After tests and X-rays, it was confirmed he was beaten up badly. He died yesterday (Tuesday) morning, and his entire body was swollen.
“Before his passing, he said they had been pressuring him to join a cult group.. He said they were going to kill him if he talked.”
In a screenshot shared on his blogging site, Perrison said the late Sylvester mentioned a few names of the students, who pressured him to join their cult group before he died.
He said: “Anybody that can kill me should kill me now. My brother won’t die for nothing, Anslem Temile, Michael Kashamu and Benjamin Favour and Dowen college, just know he called your names before he died.”
Victim’s Father Speaks
Sylvester Oromoni Sr, father of the student of Dowen College, Lekki Sylvester Oromoni Jr, who was allegedly killed by fellow school mates revealed result of an x-ray conducted on his son before he (son) died.
According to reports, Oromoni was said to have been bullied and beaten by fellow students and later died of supposed injuries from the beating.
However, the school, in a statement on Friday, denied all allegations, insisting that the schoolboy only complained of hip pain after playing football.
Speaking with BBC Pidgin, the father of Oromoni claimed that a result of an X ray conducted on the child revealed that his liver and other parts of the body systems were damaged.
According to him, before Oromoni gave up the ghost, he explained that the boys who allegedly bullied him, forced him to swallow a substance which affected his mouth, liver, and other parts of the body.
He said, “What my son told me before he died was that those five boys that he mentioned, walked into his hostel, they put off the light and other students were there.
“He said they were whipping him with belts until he fell from his bunk and they started stepping on him, at the end, they forced something into his mouth.
“We don’t know what they put in his mouth that he swallowed. Even the boy said he doesn’t know what it was but insisted that they put something into his mouth.
“We took him to hospital for x ray and scanning, although the result was not release on time, but the scanning result revealed that my son’s liver was swollen. All parts of his system were damaged.
“If you watch the picture, you will understand that the way the mouth was pilling was not just ordinary, it is the chemical the forced him to swallow.
“He said those boys were five but he mentioned three of them. The school should bring those boys out and then tell us what actually happened. If my son was actually playing ball, it means he was not alone playing, they should bring the other players out.
“My son has paid the sacrifice to bring to the public what is happening in the school”.
Lagos orders indefinite closure of Dowen College over controversial death of student
Following the development, the Lagos State Government ordered the indefinite closure of Dowen College, a secondary school located in Lekki, a highbrow area of the state.
The closure of the school is a response to the controversies surrounding the death of a 12-year-old student, Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, whose parents insisted was violently abused by senior students of the school for allegedly refusing to join a “secret cult” in the school.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued by the state’s ministry of education on Friday and signed by an assistant director, public affairs unit of the ministry, Ganiu Lawal.
According to the statement, a copy of which was obtained on Friday, the state’s commissioner for education, Folasade Adefisayo, made the announcement “after a meeting with the School Management and Staff.”
“The Lagos State Government has ordered the indefinite closure of Dowen College, Lekki , pending the outcome of an investigation into the death of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, a student of the school,” the statement reads in part, adding that; “The commissioner called for calm, saying no effort will be spared in getting to the root of the incident.”
The new directive is a follow-up to an earlier statement issued by the ministry which condoled the bereaved family and pledged commitment to unravel the mystery surrounding the controversial death.
PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier on Friday how officials of the office of the education quality assurance unit of the ministry visited the school on Thursday and were conducted round the facilities including the academic and hostel areas.
Also on Thursday, when PREMIUM TIMES’ reporter visited the school, many parents and guardians were also spotted at the school to check on their wards, even as they refused to comment on the matter.
Some parents who also assembled within the school compound also spoke in hushed voices.
But late Thursday evening, new video clips of the deceased who was visibly writhing in pain, surfaced on social media, with his parents raining curses on those they accused of inflicting injuries on their child.
TheCable newspapers also exclusively obtained additional information from the bereaved parents, narrating the details of the pain the late student went through and more information about the circumstances that led to his death.
But the school management has consistently denied the existence of a cult group on the campus, saying the information at its disposal was that the student was injured while playing football.
Background
On Wednesday, the late Master Oromoni’s ‘cousin’- Perrison Oromoni, had taken to social media to call out the names of some students of the school whom he accused of being responsible for the harassment and the eventual death of the junior secondary school student.
Mr Oromoni took to his Twitter handle @Perrisonoromoni to narrate how his late cousin was allegedly battered on Friday, November 26 at the school before he eventually died on Tuesday, November 3.
He said a series of tests and X-rays conducted on him showed that he sustained internal injuries from beatings he received from the students.
Explaining further on social media, Mr Oromoni said the Dowen School management then called Sylvester’s father, Sylvester Oromoni, telling them that his son sustained injuries while playing football at the school.
Victims Parents Write Police
Meanwhile, on Friday, TheCable newspaper reported the harrowing experiences of the bereaved parents, and the petition addressed by the parents to the Lagos State police command and a plan to send another to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
According to the newspaper, the parents eventually transferred their deceased son to Delta State where a series of tests conducted and ”last-minute open confessions” by the deceased allegedly confirmed that he was molested and violently abused by five senior students in the school.
According to the newspaper, the bereaved father, Mr Oromoni, said his son suffered liver enlargement due to congealed blood.
“He said, before he could make a return trip to Warri towards facilitating Junior’s transfer to the teaching hospital, the boy drew what became his last breath. It was also claimed that Junior was fed a liquid substance described as “a chemical” for refusing to join the group,” the newspaper reported.
It further quoted the father as saying; “My son suffered. His birthday is next tomorrow (Dec 4). I’ll celebrate it. I’ll have a cake baked. I’ll cut it on his behalf. The boys they mentioned were also reported to the school last term when they bullied Junior and collected all his foodstuff; clothes. I have two daughters, one of whom graduated earlier. I had to remove the second after this incident. They asked this boy to describe the sister’s privates and this got to us…
“Junior said, ‘mummy, I didn’t play ball; I didn’t fall.’ He jumped off his hostel bed. They kicked him, matched (marched on) his waist. Other students ran off. They threatened to kill them all if they spoke a word to the school staff. They warned Junior to say he sustained injuries while playing ball. They threatened him. If you ask the roommate, they’d all lie. They matched his ribs and waist. All that pain for a 12-year-old.”
