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The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), SouthWest zone yesterday alleged foul play in the report of the Lagos state government exonerating five students and five employees of Dowen college accused of the death of Sylvester Oromoni, a student of the school.
The student body in a statement signed by the Chairman of NANS, zone D, Oladimeji Uthman alleged that “some powers that be have been frantically making moves to open the school at all cost damming the magnitude of the horrible incident”.
Uthman challenged the school management to publish the medical records of Oromoni before his untimely death.
He insisted that the results of the autopsy conducted on Oromoni’s corpse contradicted allegations that he took a harmful substance and was equally battered before his death.
Uthman urged the Lagos state to ensure that Dowen College remain closed “as we might not only tag the Lagos State Governor an enemy of humanity, but we shall mobilise all our armless battalion to the streets of Lagos and march in our thousands to seek for adequate justice for slain Sylvester if the school is re-opened anytime soon.”
He said: “The autopsy and toxicology report conducted by the Nigeria Police Force disclosed the cause of his death to be Septicaemia, Lobar Pneumonia with Acute Pyelonephritis, Pyomyositis of the right ankle and Acute Bacterial Pneumonia due to severe Sepsis.
“We, as a committee, following up developments surrounding this case and equally making findings also contacted a medical expert to make clarifications on how possible knee injury (as claimed by the Dowen College management initially) could develop to those infections mentioned by the police to be the cause of Late Sylvester Oromoni Jnr death.
“We are equally perplexed as to why the Nigeria Police Force are not making mention of bullying in their reports. We know that Sylvester was bullied but why are state actors trying not to comment on it?
“We are dumbfounded hearing that Sylvester Oromoni Jr. died of those infections. This is the reason we are requesting from the management of Dowen College and Sylvester’s family to release and make public his medical records/history in order to shed more light on this case and also to know if there is any ailments he was treating before his death.
“The NANS Investigative Committee is paying attention to developments and want to reiterate that we will not condone any form of injustice promoted by any institution or personality. Nigerian students are seeking answers and we will not allow injustice to thrive as Sylvester Oromoni Jr was a student before his demise and as such an automatic member of NANS.
“We have had privilege information on how powers that be have been frantically making moves to open the school at all cost damming the magnitude of the horrible incident.
“On our part, we will continue to interface with the family, submit the autopsy report for scrutiny (to our medical experts) and make our position known”.
