DOWEN COLLEGE: Police authority dismisses murder based on autopsies, releases suspects

Police says it has confirmed no murder yet going by the findings of the two autopsies the police authorities and Lagos government conducted on the remains of Sylvester Oromoni whose parents said died after bullying at Dowen College, Lagos.

While stating that, Lagos CP Hakeem Odumosu, however, added investigation has yet to conclude.

“But we have done our investigation and have sent the report to the Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP for legal advise on those arrested and DPP has replied. We have gone through the medical aspect which is the post mortem,” he said in an interview.

According to him, the post mortems were carried out in Delta and Lagos states—with the bereaved only witnessing the examination in Delta.

“But after I held a meeting with the parties concerned, at the instance and directive of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu  and my Inspector- General of Police, IGP Alkali Usman Baba, the second post mortem was carried out in Lagos,” Odumosu said.

Four parties—parents of the deceased, parents of the students accused, the school authority and government—witnessed that.

“The report of the post-mortem did not bring out the issue of murder on anybody,” he said.

“Besides the result of the autopsy, the court order that we got has elapsed  and we have released the house master and others on bail,  because there was nothing that indicted them of murder.”

They suspects–five students and house masters–had been in custody for more than twenty days and that, he said, was infringing on their fundamental human rights.

The police now awaits toxicology which will determine the concoction that was allegedly forced into the deceased mouth which peeled his lips.

“Toxicology test was being done in Nigeria before, precisely at the Lagos State medical facility in Lagos Island. But after the EndSARS crisis, it is conducted outside the country,” he said.

Until that one is effectively done, we won’t know the final report. But with the interim report, nothing showed  murder.”