Lagos shuts down Dowen College to probe student's controversial death

The Lagos State Government has ordered that Dowen College be shut down following the controversial death of a student identified as Sylvester Oromoni Jnr.

The 12-year-old died this week after struggling with health problems that started on November 21, 2021, originally reported by the school as sustained while playing football.

His family has since claimed that the boy told them before his death that he was actually assaulted by fellow students who wanted him to join their cult group.

Videos of the boy in pain, posted by his family online, has sparked outrage on social media with many demanding thorough investigation into the deceased's allegations.

The state government eventually bowed to social media demands that the school be shutdown, releasing a statement to that effect on Friday, December 3.

After a meeting with school management and staff, the Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, said the school will remain closed pending the outcome of investigations.

The official said no effort will be spared in unravelling what caused the student's death, and called for calm.

The shutdown order was announced hours after Dowen announced it was temporarily shutting down for two days due to the heat generated over the incident.

In its own account of what led to Oromoni's death, the school management said the boy was given first aid management and handed over to his family after making health complaints.

The school said it was shocked by the allegations of cult-related activity by its students, which it said was non-existent.

Dowen also strongly dismissed claims that the boy could have been bullied because it has an effective policy against such.

"The preliminary investigation showed that there was no fighting, bullying, or any form of attack on the boy," the school said in a statement.

The boy's father, Sylvester Oromoni Snr, has insisted his son was telling the truth on his death bed and has demanded that justice be done.

He alleged that the bullies responsible for his eventual death were temporarily suspended in the past for bullying him by collecting his foodstuff and clothes.

The boy suffered from internal injuries, and his family believe that he was forced to drink a dangerous liquid substance.