Sylvester Oromoni, the father of the late student of Dowen College Lekki, Lagos, has alleged that parents of students responsible for torturing his son are on the move to fly them out of the country.
“The parents of the boys are wealthy. They withdrew them. The school called the parents to pick their wards; interviewed them. Some of the parents are planning to fly the children out of the country,” Mr Oromoni alleged.
The 12-year-old student, Sylvester Oromoni Junior, was allegedly tortured by his fellow students who pressured him to join a cult group in the school.
Although the school management claimed that the student died as a result of injuries sustained while he played football, videos of his last moments indicated that he was beaten, as his lips were swollen and blood was spotted on his teeth, an indication that he also had injuries in the mouth.
But Mr Oromoni who spoke to The Cable, said his son’s waist was bent and swollen along with one side of his stomach as a result of the torture.
He said the boy repeatedly denied playing football, but maintained that he was tortured by other students who threatened to kill him if he opened up on his ordeal.
“Junior said, ‘mummy, I didn’t play ball; I didn’t fall.’ He jumped off his hostel bed. They kicked him, matched his waist. Other students ran off,” Mr Oromo said.
Other students were also allegedly warned not to tell staff members about the incident.
“They warned Junior to say he sustained injuries while playing ball. They threatened him. If you ask the roommate, they’d all lie. They matched his ribs and waist. All that pain for a 12-year-old,” he said.
The deceased’s father also noted that steps were being taken to seek justice for young Oromoni just as he queried the management for allowing students leave the school premises while investigations were ongoing.
“How can Dowen allow those boys to leave the school without informing the police? The boys are five in number: four are in SS2 while one is in SS1. When the result comes, Nigerians will know the truth,” the father said.
It was alleged in a video shared on Twitter by young Oromoni’s cousin, Perrison, that one of the students was picked up with a convoy around 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, while another allegedly flew over the fence from the premises.
Several attempts to reach the director of students affairs, Lami Williams, and other top representatives of the school for comments were futile.
Since the incident, there has been outrage as many called for a complete shutdown of the school and demanded justice for the 12-year-old with #Justiceforsylvester trending on Twitter.
Meanwhile,the government of Lagos State has shut down Dowen College indefinitely until investigations are concluded.