Family, Anambra school feud over pupil’s death in boarding house  

As dust is yet to settle over the mysterious death of Sylvester Oromoni in an elite Lagos school, the Onyekwuluje family of Umuakwa, Ihiala in Anambra State, is bemoaning its fate following the death of the only son of the family, Bright Chidalu Onyekwuluje.

He was until his death, a boarding student at St. Michael’s Boys College, Ekwusigo Local Council, Anambra State. 

The family, which has already petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali, regarding the circumstances that led to their son’s death on December 17, 2021, accused the school authorities of negligence. 

The family alleged that while their son’s health deteriorated, the school’s management, rather than release him for medical attention, insisted on keeping him behind to finish his terminal examinations.
 

The parents of the deceased, Prince Cornelius and Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje, who spoke to journalists during the burial of their son, said that he gave up the ghost nine days after he was taken away from the school.                

“My son, Bright Chidalu Onyekwuluje, died out of negligence on the part of the school. He was sick, and they refused to tell us. It was my son’s cousin that borrowed a phone to call his mother to tell us to come and pick Bright that he was dying,” Prince Onyekwuluje said, adding that he was persuaded by the school not to bother coming to get his son when he expressed worry over his state of health.

But the principal of the school, Rev. Fr. Romanus Ike Muoma, debunked the claim that the management delayed in releasing the student to his parents, explaining that he was promptly treated for malaria before he suffered a relapse.