Three students of Dowen College, Lekki in Lagos State suspected to have bullied and beaten 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni which led to his death are currently in the custody of the Lagos State Police Command.
Before his death, Sylvester mentioned the names of his abusers to his parents as Michael Kashamu, Anslem Temile, Benjamin Favour, Edward Brown and Agboro Emmanuel.
Speaking to Punch in an interview, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu stated that two students also mentioned were still at large while the School Principal, housemasters and other officials of the school are helping in the investigation.
“It is still an allegation until we conduct our investigation. We just started full investigation yesterday (Monday). Two out of those mentioned in the viral video are at large while three of the students are helping us to get others.
I am in contact with my counterpart in Delta State. I spoke with the parents yesterday, we are perfecting everything scientifically” Odumosu said
Meanwhile, the mother of one of the suspect, Edward Brown, Ms Oluchi Sunday, has denied her sons involvement in the alleged assault on Sylvester Oromoni.
Releasing a statement, Edward’s mum revealed that Edward is a day student and was not on the school premises on the day Sylvester was attacked.
Read her statement below…
”It has come to my attention that some individuals caused rumours to be peddled on social media platforms suggesting that my son Edward Brown is one of the students allegedly involved in the beating of the late Sylvester Oromoni Jr at a Dowen College hostel, which resulted in his untimely death.
To set the record straight, I wish to bring the following facts to the public notice, which demonstrate that such rumours are false, malicious and lack any basis whatsoever:
- My son is a day student and has never been a boarder.
- Because my son is a day student, he was not on the school premises at the time when the unfortunate incident occurred, precisely on the night of 21st November, 2021, during a weekend and so, could not have been in the hostel as alleged.
- In a social media post made on 1st November 2021, on the deceased’s elder brother’s Instagram page, “greatoromonii”, five names, including Dowen College were mentioned before the conclusion: “… just know he called your names before he died”. My son’s name was not among those names.
As a result of these false and malicious rumours, my son and I have been under constant attack via social media, with insults and threats being hurled at us daily. This has caused us much emotional distress and mental trauma.
Therefore, on behalf of myself and my son, Edward Brown, I hereby demand that managers of social media and other platforms where the false and libellous rumours are circulating, immediately retract the offending posts and tender a public apology to us.
We commiserate with the Oromini family for the tragic loss of Sylvester Oromini Jr and pray for the repose of his soul.
Ms. Oluchi SUNDAY”
Late Sylvester, 11, died on Tuesday, November 30, just four days to his 12th birthday after he was allegedly attacked by some of his seniors in the school. The family have recently hired the services of human rights lawyer Femi Falana to prosecute the case.
