The Oromonis family was supposed to be buzzing with excitement as Sylvester Oromoni (Jnr), a high school senior at Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, clocked 12 today.
Despite his painful release on Tuesday, the family was still celebrating his birthday after his passing.
“We will celebrate his birthday on the 4th of December (today). Please, tell Nigerians to join us,” Sylvester Jr.’s bereaved father, Sylvester Oromone, told City Round on Thursday; His voice was drenched in sadness.
That’s just as the Lagos State Government closed the school on Friday until further notice to allow the police to conduct thorough investigations into the circumstances surrounding the teen’s death.
It was earlier reported that of his death spread widely on Wednesday after a post on social media by his cousin Perry Oromoni, claiming that some senior college students beat him for refusing to join a religious sect.
Speaking to one of our reporters on Thursday, Sylvester Sner said his late son complained of being bullied by an adult student about three months ago.
He added that he had sent his eldest son to notify the school authorities of the problem and it was assured that it would be resolved.
The father said: “Two days ago, we received a call that the boy was hospitalized and had injuries to his legs while playing football with his buddies. I sent his guardian to go and pick him up, but when he arrived he said my son complained of pains all over his body, including his stomach.” He kept complaining but didn’t speak when asked what happened. We saw fear in him but he refused to speak.”
The father also said that the guardian – his eldest son – who picked up Sylvester Jenner called him 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 happened until his death on Tuesday he couldn’t sleep all night. He was complaining of pains in his chest and legs. We did a test and we tried He massaged his legs.There was no dislocation or fracture.His ankles, waist, stomach and thighs were swollen and his mouth was peeling.
On Monday he told us that some senior disciples had 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 flog him with a belt. He said he fell out of bed and they kicked him and trampled on his body. I asked him why he didn’t tell us all this while he said he Afraid because the old men threatened to kill his roommates if any of them revealed what had happened. He said the boys told him to lie because he fell while he was playing with other students.”
Sylvester added that after examining the boy, a doctor said he had an “enlarged liver and that frozen blood had collected next to the liver”.
Some videos obtained by City Rounder showed Sylvester Jenner writhing in pain, groaning with every movement and touching his legs and back.
His ankle swollen while his dry lips were covered in blood. He could barely walk because he was helped in the lab and rested.
The school denies torture
But while agreeing with the deceased’s family, the school denied in a statement signed by the principal on Wednesday that Sylvester Jenner had been tortured.
He claimed that on November 21, a parent at the hostel informed the management that the boy was injured while playing football and that a resident nurse provided him with first aid immediately after which he returned to his room in the hostel.
The statement read: “He was in class on Monday, November 22, 2021, but during school hours, one of his friends took him to the sick room where he complained of some pain in his hip. The doctor examined him and prescribed him ibuprofen, while the nurse massaged his leg, after which he felt a little better.
As per the school’s policy, the resident doctor called his mother to report the incident and asked her to come for him so that he could get more medical attention. However, the mother said she was not in Lagos, spoke to him and prayed with him over the phone and promised to send the guardian to pick him up immediately for further medical attention.”
The statement added that the doctor called Sylvester’s mother again the next day when the guardian failed to attend, adding that the guardian finally attended and took him for an X-ray, which revealed that no part of his body was broken or injured.
She added, “The resident doctor also called the mother later in the week to check on his progress but informed the doctor that he was asleep at the time. The manager also spoke to the mother on the phone to inquire about his progress and she reported that he was receiving a massage and she gave him the phone to speak with the manager.”
As a result, it was no surprise to read stories on social media about him being beaten up by some students and that he specifically mentioned some names. We immediately started investigations and invited the aforementioned students for an interview. His guardian was also present during the interviews which revealed that nothing like this happened.
Lagos closes the school until further notice
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Department of Education on Friday closed the suspended school when the police finished the investigation into the incident.
A statement issued by the Assistant Director of Public Affairs of the Ministry of Education in Lagos State, Mr. Janyo Lawal, said the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasad Adivisayo, announced the closure after a meeting with the school management.
“The Lagos State Government has ordered the indefinite closure of Dowen College, Lekki, pending the outcome of the investigation into the death of Sylvester Oromone Jr., a student of the school,” the statement read.
Adevisayo also called for calm, saying that efforts will be made to get to the root of the incident.
On Friday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also demanded justice for the late Sylvester via his Twitter account.
He wrote: “We will fail in our duties as parents/guardians, administrators, security agencies and government if we do not get to the heart of the issue of the late Sylvester Oromoni. It is our credit for creating a safe environment in our schools. #Justiceforsylvester”
