The corpse of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, the student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, who died November 30,2021 as a result of alleged assault and bullying is yet to be released to his parents for proper burial.
Mr Sylvester Oromoni, the father of the deceased disclosed this in a signed statement he released to journalists on Wednesday in Lagos.
He declared that he will seek alternative legal actions to seek justice if the coroner’s inquest is not concluded before the current year 2022 runs out.
The father issued the statement to commemorate the one-year anniversary of his demise,
Recall, Sylvester Oromoni jnr had passed away under disputed circumstances that was brought to light by his cousin who posted photos and videos on Twitter, announcing that he had died after being “beaten to death at a school that cost over 1 million naira.”
Following the video which sparked an outrage, Dowen College was subsequently shut down and a coroner’s inquest was ordered by the Lagos State Government to determine the true cause of death.
The inquest which commenced on January 21, 2022 has yet to be concluded.
In his statement, Oromoni Snr noted that the coroner’s inquest for the 51 casualties of the Ikoyi building collapse of 2021 did not take as long as his son’s case.
The statement partly read, “As the father of the deceased, I cannot be tired or discouraged from pursuing justice as I have promised my son to get him justice even if it will take thirty years to achieve it.
“Today, November 30, 2022 makes it a year since the demise of my son and the body is still in the morgue, yet to be buried.
“This one-year memorial being held today is to tell Nigerians and the entire world about the current position of the inquest and the antics of Dowen College.
“I am equally aware that some civil society organisations and NGOs in Abuja and Lagos are equally observing the one-year memorial today to mark his one-year untimely demise.
May the soul of Sylvester Oromoni (Jnr.) and all departed souls rest in perfect peace. Amen.
“At this point, I wish to call on the Honourable Coroner to please do the needful by urgently bringing the inquest to an end as Nigerians and the entire world are waiting for the dispensation of justice in this case as justice delayed, is justice denied.
“This struggle is not only about my late son, but my own way of preventing the future occurrence of this tragic incident.
“In the same vein, we equally urge the Lagos State Government, as a matter of urgency to charge Dowen College and all the staff who had earlier been recommended for prosecution in the DPP Advice of 30th day of December, 2021 to court.
“Already, Dowen College has since the commencement of this Coroner put a lot of things in order in the school premises which were not available at the material time.
“You may wish to know that the installation of CCTV cameras and a football pitch have been provided as against the former concrete basketball court which was being used.
“I must state categorically that if this inquest is not concluded before the end of this year, I shall be compelled to withdraw from it in order to take a different legal step to seek justice.”
