Lagos Govt Replaces Justice Ministry Official Who Absolved Dowen College Staff, Students
- The last may not have been heard of Sylvester Oromoni's case which sparked outrage across Nigeria
- An official who released a report on the case has been swiftly transferred to another department by the Lagos state ministry of justice
- The verdict of the official had kicked off another round of agitations from Nigerians concerning the case
Alausa - The Lagos state ministry of justice has moved the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Ms. Adetutu Oshinusi to another department – The directorate of citizens rights.
According to Sahara Reporters, Oshinusi was moved due to the growing backlash that greeted the exoneration of some staff and five students of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, who were arrested and questioned over the death of Sylvester Oromoni, a 12-year-old pupil of the school.
Source: Facebook
Oshinusi had in her recommendation to the police on the matter on Tuesday, January 4 called for the release of the Dowen staff and students suspected to have a hand in circumstances leading to the death of Oromoni.
She insisted that the autopsy results showed that the victim died of infection and not as a result of being physically tortured as claimed by family members.
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She further said based on the findings; there was no prima facie case of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and or malicious administering of poison with intent to harm against the suspects.
She added:
“To hold otherwise would amount to sniffing for an offence and a speculative act which is not permitted in law. It is trite law that suspicion no matter how grave cannot be a ground for conviction.”
The victim’s family, however, rejected the verdict of Oshinusi and insisted on a coroner inquest through their lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
In reaction, the Lagos state government apart from acceding to the request also replaced Oshinusi.
A new Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, who was Head, Office of the Public Defender, has since been named by the state government as confirmed by an internal memo.
In a related development, Vanguard newspaper reports that the Lagos state chief coroner, Justice Mojisola Dada, has fixed Saturday, January 15 for the commencement of inquest into the cause of death of Oromoni's death.
Dada, in a letter through the Coroner of Epe District, Mikail Kadiri, reminded the lawyer to file and serve depositions of all witnesses he intended to call at the inquest and forward a list of persons needed to be summoned by the court.
Autopsy report corroborates claims by Oromoni's family
Legit.ng had earlier reported that an autopsy recently revealed that Oromoni died of acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication in a background of blunt force trauma.
A copy of the autopsy carried out by a consultant pathologist, was sighted by The Punch newspaper on Saturday, January 1.
Experts say chemical intoxication refers to a multitude of illnesses caused by the absorption of toxic chemical agents.
Sylvester Oromoni: Roommate of late pupil says he was tortured to death
Recall that a dormitory mate of the late Sylvester confirmed that he was tortured to death by some senior students.
In a series of WhatsApp messages to one Tamara, the dormitory mate said six seniors attacked late Sylvester.
The student whose identity was hidden said that both the principal of the school and their dorm master, one Mr. Ahmed, were aware of the attack on the late student.
Source: Legit.ng
