The Ondo State government has ordered a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the controversial death of the Registrar of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, Ezekiel Imole Adeniran.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Olukayode Ajulo SAN, said the decision followed the insistence of the deceased’s family that Adeniran was forced to drink poison.

Ajulo noted that there were also conflicting accounts, including claims that the 41-year-old registrar took his own life after purchasing and drinking poisonous substances following a white paper that indicted him and recommended his dismissal.

Adeniran, who was appointed on January 6, 2025, was found dead in his Akure residence in the early hours of July 17, 2025. Following his death, the Ondo State Police Command said he was assassinated, with the Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, stating that “two men came out of the bush, and they forced a substance into the other deceased person’s mouth.”

Ajulo stressed that the inquest would be conducted in line with the provisions of the state’s Coroners Law. He urged the Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Ayedun Odusola, to appoint a magistrate within the appropriate jurisdiction to serve as coroner, citing reports that Adeniran died under questionable circumstances.

According to him, a formal inquest is necessary to establish the cause and manner of death and to determine whether any person may bear criminal responsibility. “Following briefing and information at my disposal, I believe that in the public interest, a formal inquiry in the form of a coroner’s inquest is warranted,” he said.

Acting on the request, Justice Odusola appointed Dr Dickson Ogunfuyi, Chief Magistrate and Head of the Ondo State Multi-Door Court, to serve as coroner.