My son was tortured, father of late Dowen College student insists

THE father of late Sylvester Oromoni has broken his silence since the death of his 12-year-old son.

According to TheCable, the father of the late 12-year-old student of Dowen College said that his son was bullied and fed with a chemical substance by his fellow students before his death.

This comes after an uncle to the deceased, Perry Oromoni, took to Twitter to claim that his cousin was killed after he rejected attempts by some students in the school to initiate him into a cult group.

He stated his cousin mentioned five names responsible for his injuries before his death, confessing that they tried blending him into a cult.

“This is my 12 years old cousin that was beaten to death at a school that cost over 1 million naira.

“Dowen college is a disgrace. He mentioned 5 names before passing yesterday… They tried to put him in cult, he refused and they killed him. Secondary school o,” he had said.

However, the school management has dismissed the claims that Oromoni Junior was beaten to death for refusing to join a cult group.

A statement by the school reads:

The attention of the management of Dowen College has been drawn to a viral post on the sad demise of one of our precious children, Sylvester Oromoni.

On 21st day of November 2021, one of the Hostel Parents reported to management that Sylvester was injured while playing football. The resident registered nurse immediately administered first aid on him and after he expressed relief, was released to return to his hostel room.

Sylvester was in class on Monday 22nd day of November 2021, but during school hours one of his friends accompanied him to the Sick Bay where he complained of some pain in his hip. The doctor examined him and prescribed Ibrofen for the pain, while the nurse massaged his leg, after which Sylvester said he felt a bit better.

In accordance with school policy, the resident doctor called Mrs. Oromoni reporting the incident and requesting that she come for him so that he could get further medical attention. The mother however said she was not in Lagos, spoke with Sylvester and prayed with him on the phone and promised to send the guardian to pick him up immediately for further medical attention.

When the guardian failed to show up, the next day on the 23rdof November 2021, the doctor called the mother again and this time, she assured that his guardian would pick him from school. Sylvester’s guardian showed up and took him for X-ray after which the guardian informed the school management that the results of the investigation revealed that no part of his body was broken or injured. The resident doctor also called the mother later in the week to check up on Sylvester’s progress but she informed the doctor that Sylvester was sleeping at the time.  

The Principal also spoke with Mrs. Oromoni on the phone to enquire about his progress and she reported that he was having a massage and gave the phone to Sylvester to speak with the Principal.

As a result, it came as no small shock to us to read wild social media tales that Sylvester was beaten by some students and that he specifically mentioned some names. We immediately commenced investigations and invited the students mentioned for an interview. Sylvester’s guardian was also present during some of the investigations. It was revealed that nothing of such happened.  

The whole incident was strange and unbelievable because:  

1. The school has effective anti-bullying policies and consequences are well spelt out to all the students.
2. The preliminary investigation showed that there was no fighting, bullying or any form of attack on the boy. 
3. There were no reports by Sylvester himself, his sister who is also a student or any other students, prefects, house parents, medical staff or any of the management staff about any fighting or bullying incident. 
4. The school has two regular nurses and a qualified medical doctor that promptly attend to students’ medical needs.
5. The resident doctor followed the laid down procedure by inviting Mrs. Oromoni to take Sylvester home for further treatment after initial treatment by the school’s medical staff.

The school has a very cordial relationship with the Oromoni family as Sylvester is the fifth child of the family Dowen College has the privilege to train, including his elder sister who is currently a student at the school.

Furthermore, we state categorically Dowen College is built on core values of godliness and excellence and will not tolerate any acts of cultism, which is why there is nothing like that and there has never been such deviant activities going on, as this is a faith based school and effective policies are in place to prevent such occurrence. 

We are deeply saddened by the death of Sylvester who was a dearly beloved student of the school.  We wish to extend our deepest sympathy and heart-felt condolences to the Oromoni family, relatives, friends, and classmates at this very difficult time. 

Thank you.

PRINCIPAL

–TheCable