On a day the parents marked his 12th birthday with a cake, the Lagos State Police Command on Saturday said the investigation into the death of one Sylvester Oromoni of Dowen College, Lekki, is currently ongoing.
In a statement issued by CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, the Police said that although no formal report had been made to it, the Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered the investigation of the death.
According to Ajisebutu, “The Lagos State Police Command is not unaware of the reported death of one Sylvester Oromoni, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, which is currently going viral on social media.”
Speaking further, the PPRO said, “The Commissioner of Police, upon hearing about it, instantly directed the Divisional Police Officer, Maroko Division, under whose jurisdiction the place of incident is, to immediately visit the school to carry out an initial investigation into the incident.”
“This directive has been carried out as an investigation into the case has since commenced,” he said.
He continued, “However, in view of the seriousness of the case, the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, has also been directed to take over the investigation of the case immediately.”
Ajisebutu, in the statement, further said that members of the public should avoid taking laws into their hands as the command has assured the bereaved family of justice.
He said, “Members of the public, particularly the deceased’s bereaved parents, friends and relatives, are assured that the Lagos State Police Command has deployed all available human and material resources at its disposal to unravel the circumstances surrounding the sad and unfortunate incident.”
“While diligent investigation is ongoing, members of the public are advised against taking the law into their own hands. They are also enjoined to refrain from comments that could jeopardize the investigation,” he asserted.
Ajisebutu revealed, “The Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, while commiserating with the bereaved family, has equally assured that the outcome of police investigation would be made public in due course.”
Oromoni was reported dead on Wednesday, Dec. 1 by a Twitter user, @perrisonoromoni who claimed to be the deceased’s cousin.
According to @perrisonoromoni, the deceased was bullied and beaten by fellow students which led to his death.
However, Dowen College, in a statement, denied all allegations, stating that Oromoni only complained of body pains from playing football.
Dowen College also directed students to take Friday, Dec. 3 off, and resume on Monday, Dec. 6 following the incident and to also enable the students to study for exams.
@perrisonoromoni subsequently put out photos and video evidence, which showed the bruises on the deceased’s body.
The Lagos State Ministry of Education, subsequently, on Friday, Dec. 3, announced the indefinite closure of Dowen College, Lekki, pending the outcome of investigation into the boy’s death.
To help ease their pain, the parents of the deceased chose to mark his 12th birthday on Saturday, Dec. 4.
