•Falana declares decision hasty, escapist
Chiemelie Ezeobi
Following advice by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the Lagos State government,yesterday, cleared all five students and five employees of Dowen College, who were accused of complicity in the death of a 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni, a student of the college.
The accused students, 16-year-old Favour Benjamin, 15-year-old Micheal Kashamu, 16-year-old Edward Begue, 14-year-old Ansel Temile and 15-year-old Kenneth Inyang, have since been granted N1million bail by the courts.
Also, the members of staff of the college, Celina Uduak, Valentine Igboekweze, Hammed Ayomo Bariyu, Adesanya Olusesan Olusegun and one Adeyemi, were last week released after the expiration of the court order issued for their remand.
The legal advice by DPP’s Ms. Adetutu Oshinusi, was addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID and Magistrate Olatunbosun Adeola, the trial magistrate.
Explaining that the interim and final autopsy reports issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and toxicology report of post mortem samples and that of the Central Hospital, Warri, were in agreement with the cause of death, they cited the causes as Septicaemia, Lobar Pneumonia with Acute Pyelonephritis, Pyomyositis of the right ankle and Acute Bacteria Pneumonia due to severe Sepsis.
The result of the toxicology also stated that it was not indicative of any toxic or poisonous substance in the body of the deceased.
It was based on these results that the DPP advised that there was no prima facie case of murder, involuntary manslaughter and or malicious administering of poison with intent to harm against the five students.
The DPP further cleared all five students of belonging to unlawful society due to insufficient facts to establish the offence, especially, as police investigation did not reveal such.
The report stated that from available facts in the duplicate case file, “The investigation carried out by the police did not reveal that any secret society name, tattoo or insignia of any unlawful society was found in the possession of any of the suspects during the investigation carried out by the police.
“To hold otherwise would amount to sniffing for an offence and a speculative act which is not permitted in law. It is trite in law that suspicion, no matter how grave, cannot be a ground for conviction.”
The state, therefore, cleared the school and five employees of the offence of Negligent Act Causing Harm contrary to section 252 of the Criminal Law Ch. C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State 2015, and directed that all the suspects should be released if they were still in custody.
But reacting, Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana, speaking for the family, declared the legal advice on the unlawful killing of Sylvester as hasty and escapist, given that the coroner’s inquest instituted by the Chief Coroner of Lagos State was adjourned to January 15, 2022.
Falana, in a statement, said, “Our attention has been drawn to the report issued by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of Lagos State, dated January 4, 2022, which has purportedly cleared five students and five employees of Dowen College of any complicity in the death of the 12-year old Sylvester Oromini Jr.
“However, the report has not laid the allegations surrounding the gruesome murder of Sylvester Oromoni to rest. The report is escapist and hasty as the authorities are aware of the fact that the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, has ordered that an inquest be conducted into the circumstances surrounding the unnatural death of Sylvester Oromoni.
“The inquest, which commenced before the Coroner on December 16, 2021, has been adjourned to January 15, 2022 for further hearing.”
