The Founder and board chairman of Dowen College, Lagos, Dr. Olumide Phillips, and members of the school’s board have stepped down from office.
The retirement of the board members and their chairman was contained in a statement signed by Tomi Borisade, on behalf of the school in Lagos.
The statement read in parts: “The founding members of the Board of Governors including the Founder and Chairman of the Board, Dr. O. Olumide Phillips, who have worked tirelessly over the years to develop outstanding children both in and out of the school, have chosen to retire and pass the baton of change to a new generation of seasoned professionals who will run with the vision, leadership, passion, commitment and values they have worked rigorously to establish”.
According to the statement, this will also enhance communication and effectiveness with the Parents Teachers Forum.
On the death of Sylvester Oromoni, who was a student of the school last November, the board noted in the statement that “May God grant the Oromoni family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. We pray we will never experience such an unfortunate incident in our community again. Sylvester’s demise has left all of us at Dowen College deeply saddened.
“Our students, staff, and community have been affected by the news surrounding his passing and we find ourselves navigating unchartered waters”.
Statement
The school mentioned that it was working with the Lagos State Ministry of Education and taken on board their guidance and suggestions with regard to various areas of improvement and promised to implement infrastructural changes to the hostels and school facilities to enhance safety and oversight within the school premises.
Meanwhile, the management of the college is eagerly awaiting the directive to reopen from the Lagos State government. The school was shut down last December following the protests and outcry that greeted the death of Oromoni and when the government wanted to reopen it early this year, it changed the decision at the last minute. It has been gathered that a lot of consultation has been going on between the management of the college, the state government, and the family of the deceased to find an amicable solution to the issue.
Sylvester Had Enlarged Liver- Witness
In court yesterday, January 27, 2022, while answering questions from the lawyer to the Lagos State Government, Seun Akande, a witness, testified that Sylvester Omoroni had an enlarged liver but was not immediately taken to a hospital.
Per reports, Magistrate Mikail Kadiri sitting at the Epe Magistrate Court, Lagos, heard that upon arrival in Warri, Delta State, the Oromoni family doctor, Aghoho Owhojede, attended to the boy who was treated for malaria. Based on the doctor’s instructions, a scan and an x-ray were later conducted on the boy, which results revealed among other things that the boy had a liver enlargement.
The witness noted that the parents of the boy initially arranged with Dr. Owhojede to take their son to the Delta State Teaching Hospital, Oghara for treatment. However, the boy was eventually taken to one Vicar Hospital on November 30, 2021, where he was said to have later died. The witness also testified that the boy and his mother had first gone to church for prayers before the medical tests were carried out.
At the last sitting of the court on January 21, the first witness, Clifford Tejire told the coroner how he went to Dowen College on November 23, 2021, to pick late Sylvester from school. He disclosed that though the boy was in great pain, and his condition worsened, he was not instructed by the parents to take the boy to the hospital.
Oromoni, was later taken to Warri, in Delta State where he eventually died on November 30, 2021, per reports.
Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council, Lagos Chapter has filed an application seeking to be joined in the inquest. The coroner noted that the application will be considered at the next sitting of the court, today, Friday, January 28, 2022.
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