Parents of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, were thrown into panic recently when news went viral that 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni was tortured to death by a group of his fellow students for refusing to join cult group.
Oromoni’s death became public knowledge after a family member, identified as Perri, posted about the incident on social media.
On Wednesday, a family member alleged that the Junior Secondary School 2 pupil died from the injuries he sustained during an assault by fellow students who wanted to initiate him into cultism.
He noted that Oromoni suffered internal injuries afterwards, and died while receiving treatment in a hospital.
However, a statement by Dowen College Principal, Mrs. Adebisi Layiwola, has denied the allegation, saying that “the whole incident was strange and unbelievable because the school had effective anti-bullying policies and consequences are well spelt out to all the students”. She further disclosed that the five students named by the deceased had been questioned by the school authorities, adding that no such incident of bullying occurred in the school.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, has however announced the closure of the school.
While not pre-empting the outcome of further investigation, the school authorities should know that mere questioning of the five accused persons was not enough to ascertain the truth.
No student would easily admit killing a fellow student.
The deceased was not known to have any mental case to warrant accusing his colleagues of such heinous crime.
Therefore, a comprehensive autopsy should be performed to ascertain the cause of his death, while the Police should also conduct discreet investigation and interrogate the five accused.
