Sylvester Oromoni: Lagos govt clears Dowen students, staff of charges, orders their release
The five students and employees of Dowen College linked to the death of Sylvester Oromoni have been cleared of any involvement by the Lagos State government.
Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Ms Adetutu Oshinusi, cleared all five students, staff members, and the college of complexity in the death of the 12-year-old.
Oshinusi cleared the suspects in legal advice addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, and the trial Magistrate, Olatunbosun Adeola.
She based her advice on the interim and final autopsy reports issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and toxicology report of post mortem samples and that of the Central Hospital, Warri which were in agreement with Oromoni’s cause of death.
Oshinusi said the result of the toxicology did not indicate the presence of any toxic or poisonous substance in Oromoni’s body.
She noted that based on the findings; there is “no prima facie case of murder, involuntary manslaughter and or malicious administering of poison with intent to harm against the five students, Favour Benjamin aged 16, Micheal Kashamu (15), Edward Begue (16), Ansel Temile (14) and Kenneth Inyang (15).”
The DPP also cleared the students of belonging to unlawful society due to insufficient facts to establish the offence.
According to Oshinusi, “available facts in the duplicate case file, the investigation carried out by the Police did not reveal that any secret society name, tattoo or insignia of any unlawful society was found in the possession of any of the suspects during the investigation carried out by the Police.
“To hold otherwise would amount to sniffing for an offence and a speculative act which is not permitted in law. It is trite law that suspicion no matter how grave cannot be a ground for conviction”.
In the report, the DPP ordered the release of all suspects still held in custody.
It was reported that the 12-year-old boy died in November 2021, after he was allegedly bullied and tortured by five schoolmates.
Oromoni was said to have died as a result of torture from his schoolmates who tried to lure him into a cult group.
However, an autopsy released by Clement Vhriterhire, a Consultant Pathologist at the Central Hospital in Warri, Delta State said the child had acute lung injury, cerebral edema and sustained “bruised flanks/back.
In December 2021, a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ court in Lagos admitted the five suspected Dowen College students to a one million naira bail.
The police had levelled charges bordering on conspiracy and homicide on the suspected Dowen students.
The Chief magistrate, Olatunbosun Adeola, had ordered the defendants to produce two sureties each in like sum.
