My son was treated at home, Oromoni’s father tells court  

The father of late Sylvester Oromoni Junior, yesterday told a Lagos Coroner Court, that the deceased was treated at home and not hospital.
 
The witness revealed this in his evidence in an ongoing coroner inquest to determine the cause of the death of the11-year-old student of Dowen College in Lagos State.

In his cross examination by counsel representing one of the alleged students, Mr. Godwin Omoaka, the witness told coroner court that his son was treated at home after the family doctor told him that there was no private ward. 

“He was taken to hospital and the doctor said there was no private ward and he was taken back to the house. Later, he was taken to St. Leo Diagnosis for x-ray and scan.”

He was asked if he would be surprised that there was no evidence of beaten on the deceased?
 
Mr. Oromoni Senior responded that he will not be surprised, noting that it depends on when the beaten occurred. He said the beaten did not occur on November 21, 2021. He further told the court that one of the students said the deceased got injured on November 14, 2021. 

He, however confirmed to the court that he granted interviews to various media houses.
 
Mr. Omoaka prayed the court to order that four clips of video of the interviews be played.

Counsel representing Dowen College, Mr. Anthony Kpokpo, told the court that the videos are already before the court. Even though the coroner is not bound by the rules of evidence, an examiner, he said, was not bound to frontload the document to contradict the witness. By the basic rules of fairness, Coroner is not bound to the basic, he argued.

It is proper that the video be accepted, especially when it will throw light in the darkness and to unveil the facts as they are and not contrived to be.

Mr. Andrew Efole, the Oromoni’s family lawyer, he clarifies that the issue was to play the videos and serve parties the clips.

“We are not saying the video should not be played,” he said. 

However, Oromoni senior further told the court that from the clinic, after the boy passed on, he called those who wanted to go and bury the boy to bring the body back.
   
“How corpse was brought back home. He was brought to the front of my gate and the police came, they took some photographs of the deceased and video the body,” he said.

When he was told that the family doctor had told the court that he did not find any evidence of blunt force trauma on the deceased, the witness responded that he was surprised, adding that he, was also surprised that Doctor Aghogho, said the deceased died from injection of toxic substance. 

He also said that he did not call anybody to massage the leg but to examine it.

The coroner Magistrate therefore adjourned further hearing to February 15, 2022.