TheCable Lifestyle visited Dowen College at midday, seeking an audience with Adebisi Layiwola, the elite school's principal, who was said to be in an emergency board meeting over the issue.
At the reception/lounge, parents could be seen pacing in and out to check their wards. An official engaged this reporter in a heated verbal exchange on suspicion of making secret footage as a staff member of the school chided one of the students said to have bullied his colleagues.
Officials of the education quality assurance office in Lagos emerged from the premises but declined an interview.
Five boys were alleged to have been involved in the bullying, three of whose names were mentioned online.
In an outpour, Junior's father said: "My son suffered. His birthday is next tomorrow (Dec 4). I'll celebrate it. I'll have a cake baked. I'll cut it on his behalf. The boys they mentioned were also reported to the school last term when they bullied Junior and collected all his foodstuffs; clothes. I have two daughters, one of whom earlier graduated. I had to remove the second after this incident. They asked this boy to describe the sister's privates and this got to us."
Oromoni's family said Dowen had temporarily suspended the boys involved after the family's eldest son took it up. He said Junior was also switched to a new hostel but the bullying and intimidation persisted into the new term.
"They put fear in him so much so that, when you ask him, he might keep to himself and say, they will kill me This way, we didn't know what to do. I considered removing him reconsidered since his sisters were still in the school. The new incident came to my knowledge on November 21st after the school called my wife to notify us that our son was in the school clinic, injured. My senior son, who was to make a London trip, came to see us in Warri," he said.
The next day, we sent a family friend to help pick up our son since he was the only person in Lagos and take him to the hospital. When he got there, he panicked, pointing out that he doubts it's a football injury as the school claimed. He said the boy couldn't stand because his waist was bent and swollen along with one side of his belly. His mouth was black. I asked, is this really a football injury?' He was taken to my house in Lagos but couldn't sleep at night.
"I asked my eldest to fly to Lagos on November 24 while I took a trip to Asaba, from where I'd also make for Lagos. On getting there, he screamed. This is beyond football injury. Come to Lagos now, he told me over the phone." Oromoni said the family flew the deceased to Warri where blood tests and an x-ray were conducted. He said Junior also underwent typhoid/malaria treatments but his mouth started peeling in excess of malaria drug side effects. The bereaved said the deceased only managed to sleep one hour when sedated and would wake up screaming in pain. The father added it was on November 29, when he was away for a government function, that Junior "opened up"
Oromoni said Junior, before his death, revealed he neither played ball nor tripped as claimed. He also alleged that the deceased stated that five boys had barged into his room, put off the lights, and beat him up in the presence of other students.
"Junior said, 'mummy, I didn't play ball; I didn't fall. He jumped off his hostel bed. They kicked him, matched his waist. Other students ran off. They threatened to kill them all if they spoke a word to the school staff. They warned Junior to say he sustained injuries while playing ball. They threatened him. If you ask the roommate, they'd all lie. They matched his ribs and waist. All that pain for a 12-year-old," he said, trailing off into a soft sob over the phone.
The father said Junior suffered liver enlargement due to congealed blood. He said, before he could make a return trip to Warri towards facilitating Junior's transfer to the teaching hospital, the boy drew what became his last breath.
Me: I am heart broken ðŸ˜
Justice for this boy.
Dowen College has alot to answer to.
Why the cover up story?
Cc: Kehinde Charity Awujoola II
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