Suspicions continue to surround the death of a 12-year-old Nigerian boy who died from injuries he sustained after allegedly being beaten by fellow students in a Lagos boarding school.
Sylvester Oromoni Jr., a student of the Dowen College, Lekki, was allegedly bullied and brutally beaten by fellow students, who were forcing him to join a cult, according to local media reports.
He died a few days ago after sustaining critical internal injuries that his family members allege he suffered from the torture at school.
A Twitter user claiming to be the boy’s cousin announced the death, along with the identities of some students of Dowen College, accusing them of torturing the boy.
However, the school management released a statement on Friday, Dec. 3, denying all allegations, insisting that the boy injured his hip during a football game.
Following the denial, the victim’s family released videos and a photo as proof in dispute of the management’s statement.
The photo shows Sylvester’s evidently bruised lips which his family said he got after the boys forced a substance down his throat.
Sylvester Oromoni Sr. shared an x-ray result of his son which revealed the boy had suffered critical damages to his liver and other body parts.
“What my son told me before he died was that those five boys that he mentioned, walked into his hostel, they put off the light and other students were there.”
“He said they were whipping him with belts until he fell from his bunk and they started stepping on him, in the end, they forced something into his mouth.”
“We don’t know what they put in his mouth that he swallowed. Even the boy said he doesn’t know what it was but insisted that they put something into his mouth.”
“We took him to hospital for x-ray and scanning, although the result was not released on time, the scanning result revealed that my son’s liver was swollen. All parts of his system were damaged.”
“If you watch the picture, you will understand that the way the mouth was pilling was not just ordinary, it is the chemical the forced him to swallow.”
“He said those boys were five but he mentioned three of them. The school should bring those boys out and then tell us what actually happened. If my son was actually playing ball, it means he was not alone playing, they should bring the other players out.”
“My son has paid the sacrifice to bring to the public what is happening in the school,” he said.
In the video, the boy with swollen legs and stomach is seen writhing in pain on his hospital bed. The now-viral video attracted national attention and the public joined their voices demanding justice for the student.
On Friday, the State Government released orders to shut down the school indefinitely.
The police have been investigating but are yet to provide an update on the proceedings.
“Just give us some time, the CP (Commissioner of Police) will make the outcome of the investigation public. You know his death is now a national issue. The CP will talk about the update soon,” Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu told The Sun.
Sylvester Oromoni Sr. said his son would have turned 13 on Saturday, Dec. 4, if not for the tragedy. He said he misses his boy and would still bake a cake in his honor.
This is an ongoing investigation and no further details were revealed at the time of this writing.
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