But for his untimely and gruesome death earlier in the week,
the household of the Oromonis was supposed to buzz with excitement as Sylvester
Oromoni (Jnr), a Junior Secondary School two pupil at Dowen College, Lekki,
Lagos, would have clocked at 12 today.
His painful exit on Tuesday notwithstanding, the family
would still mark his birthday posthumously.
“We will celebrate his birthday on the 4th of December
(today). Please, tell Nigerians to join us,” Sylvester junior’s bereaved
father, Sylvester Oromoni, told City Round on Thursday; his voice steeped in
grief.
This is just as the Lagos State Government shut down the
school on Friday till further notice to allow the police carry out thorough
investigations on the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s demise.
The news of his death went viral on Wednesday following a
social media post by his cousin, Perry Oromoni, who alleged that some senior
pupils of the college beat him up for refusing to join a cult.
Speaking to one of our correspondents on Thursday, Sylvester
Snr said his late son had complained of being bullied by one of the senior
pupils about three months earlier.
He added that he had sent his elder son to notify the school
authorities of the issue and was given the assurance that it would be resolved.
The father said, “Two Sundays ago, we got a call that the
boy was hospitalised and had injuries in the legs while playing football with
his mates. I sent his guardian to go and pick him up but when he got there he
said my son complained of pains all over his body, including his stomach. He
kept on complaining but didn’t talk when asked what happened. We saw the fear
in him but he refused to talk.”
The father also said that the guardian – his eldest son –
who picked up Sylvester Jnr called to inform him that his condition was
critical.
He said, “Last week, I went to Lagos to bring him to Warri
(Delta State). I flew from Asaba to Lagos. Since this thing happened till he
died on Tuesday, he could not sleep throughout the night. He would be
complaining of pains in his chest and legs. We did a test and tried to massage
his legs. There was no dislocation or fracture; it was his ankle, waist,
stomach and thighs that were swollen and his mouth was peeling.
“On Monday, he told us that some senior pupils entered the
hostel; five of them – four in SS2 and one in SS1. He said he was on his bed
and they entered the hostel and flogged him with a belt. He said he fell from
the bed and they kicked him and trampled on his body. I asked why he didn’t
tell us all this while but he said he was scared because the seniors had
threatened to kill his roommates if any of them revealed what happened. He said
the boys told him to lie that he fell while playing with other pupils.”
Sylvester added that following a scan run on the boy, a
doctor said he suffered “liver enlargement and that congealed blood had
gathered by the side of the liver.”
Some video clips obtained by City Round showed Sylvester Jnr
writhing in pain, moaning to every move and touch to his legs and back.
His ankles were swollen while his dried lips were caked with
blood. He could barely walk as he was helped to the laboratory and the
convenience.
School denies torture
But while commiserating with the deceased’s family, the
school in a statement signed by the principal on Wednesday denied that
Sylvester Jnr was tortured.
It claimed that on November 21, one of the hostel parents
reported to the management that the boy was injured while playing football and
a resident nurse immediately administered first aid on him after which he
returned to his hostel room.
The statement read in part, “He was in class on Monday, 22nd
day of November 2021, but during (the) school hours, one of his friends
accompanied him to the sickbay where he complained of some pain in his hip. The
doctor examined him and prescribed ibuprofen for the pain, while the nurse
massaged his leg, after which he felt a bit better.
“In accordance with the school policy, the resident doctor
called his mother reporting the incident and requesting that she come for him
so that he could get further medical attention. The mother however said she was
not in Lagos, spoke and prayed with him on the phone and promised to send the
guardian to pick him up immediately for further medical attention.”
The statement further said that the doctor called
Sylvester’s mother again the next day when the guardian failed to show up,
adding that the guardian eventually showed up and took him for X-ray, which
revealed that no part of his body was broken or injured.
It added, “The resident doctor also called the mother later
in the week to check up on his progress but she informed the doctor that he was
sleeping at the time. The principal also spoke with the mother on the phone to
enquire about his progress and she reported that he was having a massage and
gave the phone to him to speak with the principal.
“As a result, it came as no small shock to us to read social
media tales that he was beaten by some students and that he specifically
mentioned some names. We immediately commenced investigations and invited the
students allegedly mentioned for an interview. His guardian was also present
during the interviews, which revealed that nothing of such happened.
Lagos shuts school
till further notice
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Ministry of Education on Friday
closed the school pending when the police would conclude investigation into the
incident.
A statement by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Lagos
State Ministry of Education, Mr Ganiu Lawal, said the Commissioner of
Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, announced the closure after a meeting with
the management of the school.
“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
read in part.
Adefisayo also called for calm, saying effort would be made
to get to the root of the incident.
Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Friday
demanded justice for the late Sylvester via his Twitter handle.
He wrote, “We shall be failing in our duties as parents/guardians,
administrators, security agencies and government if we do not get to the bottom
of the case of the late Sylvester Oromoni. It is beholden to us to enthrone a
safe environment in our schools. #Justiceforsylvester.”
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