Police Begin Probe of Dowen College Student’s Death, Autopsy Result Expected Tomorrow

Matilda Omonaiye/

The father of the deceased Dowen College student, Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, said police have taken over investigations of his son’s controversial death.

Sylvester Oromoni Snr, in an online interview the The PUNCH, also disclosed that an autopsy had been conducted on the body and the result would be out tomorrow.

Oromoni Snr, who was flanked by two of his daughters, who also attended the same school, said the pathologist who conducted the autopsy told him that a strange liquid was found in his stomach.

He said the liquid substance had been extracted and would be subjected to further examination.

The bereaved father, who could not conceal his grief, broke down in tears repeatedly during the interview.

Contrary to the claim by the school that there was no time the late student was bullied or tortured by his schoolmates, he insisted that his son died as a result of the atrocities he subjected to by some of his fellow students.

He said while one of his daughters had already finished from the school, he had to withdraw the second one after the unfortunate incident involving his son.

Also, in an earlier interview with The Cable, Oromoni revealed some of the atrocities his son suffered in the school.

He revealed that his son was subjected to severe bullying, disclosing that the boys who allegedly bullied Oromoni Jnr had been reported to the school management the previous term.

He said, “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 foodstuffs; clothes. I have two daughters, one of whom earlier graduated. I had to remove the second after this incident. They asked this boy to describe the sister’s privates and this got to us.”

The boy’s father also revealed to The Cable that Oromoni Jnr had been issued death threats if he ever revealed what happens to him in school.

He also stated that contrary to what Dowen College had said in a statement addressing the incident, the family friend who they sent to pick up Oromoni Jnr from the school described a totally different situation.

“They put fear in him so much so that, when you ask him, he might keep to himself and say, ‘they will kill me’. This way, we didn’t know what to do. I considered removing him, reconsidered since his sisters were still in the school,” Oromoni Snr told The Cable.

“The new incident came to my knowledge on November 21st after the school called my wife to notify us that our son was in the school clinic, injured. My senior son, who was to make a London trip, came to see us in Warri.

The next day, we sent a family friend to help pick up our son since he was the only person in Lagos and take him to the hospital. When he got there, he panicked, pointing out that he doubts it’s a football injury as the school claimed. He said the boy couldn’t stand because his waist was bent and swollen along with one side of his belly. His mouth was black. I asked, ‘is this really a football injury?’ He was taken to my house in Lagos but couldn’t sleep at night.

“I asked my eldest to fly to Lagos on November 24 while I took a trip to Asaba, from where I’d also make for Lagos. On getting there, he screamed. ‘This is beyond football injury. Come to Lagos now,’ he told me over the phone.”

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