Lagos Coroner Delivers Judgement On Sylvester Oromoni’s Death

After a thorough investigation, the Lagos Coroner’s Court has delivered its verdict on the death of Oromoni.

The coroner determined that his death was a result of natural causes and not on the part of the school.

The coroner found that Oromoni’s death was due to parental and doctor’s negligence.

The court’s verdict highlights the importance of ensuring the safety and well-being of students within educational institutions.

While delivering the judgement, Magistrate Kadiri noted that the essence of an inquest is to determine how a deceased person died and the circumstances surrounding his death.

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He said the evidence and reports of the two experts who performed the autopsy on the late Oromoni Jr. stated that he died of severe septicemia (sepsis) as a result of an infection.

“I do not believe the version of the family doctor, Henry Aghogho.

He did not provide the required duty of care for the patient whose home care treatment was “trivialised.”. Despite the 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.

Despite the deceased’s condition, he completely neglected the victim. The clinical records show that he did not give quality treatment to the deceased, which also exposed the lies behind his evidence.

“Having examined the evidence tendered by all witnesses, I have come to the conclusion that the deceased died of a natural cause.

“Despite the alleged accusations of the deceased that he was beaten and bullied, it was not proven because all the accused persons denied it.
All the students involved denied the allegations, while some of them were not in school when the incident occurred, as they claimed to be border students who don’t even stay in school during the weekends.

“Therefore, the evidence of the sister could not be relied on because it was based on hearsay from the brother.”

The Magistrate also held that the death of Oromoni Jr. was an avoidable one but of parental negligence.

“The parents didn’t take him to any hospital in Lagos, despite the fact that they have a house there.
They took him to Warri in Delta State and were negligent in how they handled the deceased sickness; there was a long period of days whereby the boy could have been treated appropriately.

“He went through avoidable excruciating pain and needless suffering until his death. The pupils alleged to have bullied him played no part in the death of the deceased, according to all the evidence before the court.
In fact, Edward and Kenneth should not have been in the path of this whole case because they were not even in school when the incident occurred.

Also, no Dowen staff played any role in the deceased’s death.”

The Coroner Magistrate, however, advises that parents not take their children’s health with levity, as well as better synergy between the police and medical team in such matters.

He also called for a proper psychological evaluation of the 5 students suspected of having bullied the deceased because of what they might be going through because of the allegations.