- Coroner Blames Death Of 12-Year-Old On Parents, Doctors’ Negligence
- Slams Family Doctor, Henry Aghogho For Trivialising Boy’s Treatment, Not Providing Required Duty Of Care
- Falana Kicks, Says Coroner Ignored Evidence Of Government Pathologist About “Black Substance” Found In Stomach Of Deceased
- Father Rejects Verdict, Says It’s Not The End Of The Case
The outcome of the coroner’s inquest into the death of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lagos has pitted Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana and the Coroner Magistrate Mikhail Kadiri against each other.
The Matrix reports that late Oromoni Jnr reportedly died on November 30, 2021, at a private hospital in Warri, Delta State following health complications that allegedly occurred at his school.
Following his death which sparked outrage over allegations of bullying and poisoning, the Lagos State Government set up a coroner’s inquest to investigate the circumstances of his death which began in January 2022.
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Earlier on Monday, April 15, 2024, the Coroner, Magistrate Kadiri inquiring into the cause of death of the late Sylvester had returned a verdict that the deceased died a natural death.
In a judgment that lasted over 6 hours, the coroner also held that the boy’s death, which occurred on November 30, 2021, was avoidable as the negligence of the parents and the medical team contributed in part to it.
He ruled that the evidence gathered showed that the late Sylvester suffered “avoidable excruciating pain” due to parental and medical negligence, which led to his “needless” death.
Thirty-two witnesses in all testified in the coroner’s inquest which started sitting on January 15, 2022.
They included the parents of the late student, the management of Dowen College as well as some teachers, members of staff and some students alleged to have bullied the late student.
Others who testified were police officers who investigated the incident as well as medical doctors and pathologists.
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Among the evidence relied on were the findings of two autopsies conducted on the late student in Warri, Delta state and Lagos.
The autopsies revealed the cause of death to include septicemia which demanded urgent medical care but which was not given timeously.
The autopsy conducted on the deceased at the Central Hospital, Warri, Delta state, had only the family members present, and another conducted at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, had about ten pathologists representing various parties including the family, Lagos state government and Dowen College participated.
Reading from his notes, Magistrate Kadiri said, “Death was caused by Septicaemia (a life-threatening health condition caused by a patient’s body’s response to an infection), following infections of the lungs and kidneys arising from the ankle wound.
“No evidence of blunt force trauma in this body. The findings in the oesophagus and stomach are not compatible with chemical intoxication. Death, in this case, is natural.
“Dr Sunday Soyemi, who led the Lagos procedure has stated in the autopsy report that sepsis, which led to the death of the boy, could have been treated with “massive doses of intravenous antibiotic, intravenous fluid and blood transfusion”, but which was never done.”
“From the evidence, Sylvester was said to have sustained an injury on his ankle between November 20 and 21, following first aid treatment, the school contacted his parents to come and pick him up for further treatment”.
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“A guardian was sent to the school who took him for an X-ray, but no fracture was detected. But he wasn’t taken to a hospital for care in Lagos until days later when he was moved to his base in warri, and treated at home by the family doctor, Henry Aghogho”.
The Coroner slammed the family doctor, Henry Aghogho for not providing the required duty of care for the patient whose home care treatment he said was “trivialized” despite early diagnosis.
“The doctor was found to have abandoned the deceased for more than 32 hours and didn’t carry out an X-ray and scan early enough which would have revealed his deteriorating condition”.
The coroner, who broke down in tears several times while reading his findings and even rose at a point to comport himself, said the case was touching but needed objectivity.
He exonerated the school of negligence and the five senior students accused of bullying the deceased and administering a poisonous substance on him.
“The alleged suspects played no part in Sylvester’s death, but were victims of their past misdeeds. They were falsely accused, and no staff of Dowen College played any role in the death.
“The school has improved their facilities since the incident. The claims of chemical intoxication were never proven, and the faces of those allegedly bullying the deceased weren’t seen. The alleged confession of Sylvester was denied by several witnesses. Even if he was beaten, it didn’t lead to his death.”
The Coroner also gave some recommendations to forestall further incidents of this sad nature. He advised parents not to take their children’s health with levity.
He also called for a synergy between the police, medical team going forward as well as for the police force to ensure due caution before arrests are made.
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He further recommended that the management of Dowen College to ensure documentation of entry and exit of students out of the hostel, as well as proper psychological evaluation for the 5 students suspected to have bullied the deceased.
Reacting to the judgement, Falana slammed the Coroner for ignoring critical evidence in the case.
Falana said the Coroner disregarded further toxicological examination and withdrew initial recommendations for criminal negligence charges, despite glaring evidence and allegations of bullying within the school, including the discovery of a mysterious substance in Sylvester’s stomach.
In a statement issued on Monday shortly after the judgement was read, Falana wondered how and why the coroner ignored the evidence of the government pathologist that the “black substance” found in the stomach of the deceased was not subjected to toxicological examination.
“It is curious that the coroner ignored the evidence of the government pathologist that the “black substance” found in the stomach of the deceased was not subjected to toxicological examination. The allegation was that the deceased was forced to drink a poisonous substance.
“The Acting Director of Public Prosecution of Lagos State at the material time had recommended that some staff and students be prosecuted for criminal negligence over the bullying of students in the school. Four days later, the Acting DPP turned around to say that there was no case to answer without any fresh evidence from the police investigators. The coroner ruled that the acting DPP has the power to withdraw her recommendations at any time!
“The doctors who testified stated that the deceased died of sepsis and that the sepsis could have been caused by excessive massaging of the leg of the deceased. The coroner conveniently overlooked the fact that the school doctor and the nurses massaged the leg of the deceased for two days before inviting his parents to take him home.
“In an attempt to exonerate Dowen College, the coroner was silent on the overwhelming evidence of the bullying of the deceased, his sister, and other students by the same set of students. In particular, the coroner discountenanced the evidence of a student who had testified that he saw the deceased beaten up and subjected to torture by a group of senior students.
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“In spite of such uncontradicted evidence, the coroner said that the deceased died of natural causes. The coroner claimed that the negligence of the family doctor led to the death of the deceased but failed to refer him to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for appropriate sanctions,” said Falana.
In the same vein, the bereaved father also rejected the judgment. While speaking to newsmen, he said “Medical experts did not give a concluding result. They said they saw a substance inside the body of the boy, and what was the substance? Was it tested? It wasn’t tested. So, this (the judgment) is not the end of the case. As far as I am concerned, it does not represent the true procedure of the evidence taken.”
