On Monday, the coroner sitting in Ikeja Magistrates’ Court barred journalists and other interested parties from covering and witnessing the inquest to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of a 12-year old student of Dowen College Lagos Sylvester Oromoni (Jnr).

The court registrar sent out some family members, sympathisers and friends already seated in court.

The registrar said the hearing was mainly for lawyers, urging journalists and other interested parties to leave the courtroom.

It was learnt that the decision was taken because one of the students of Dowen College, accused of beating the deceased, was in court to testify.

At the time of filing this report, some of the deceased family members were still locked out, except the father of the deceased, Sylvester Oromoni (Snr).

Oromoni’s family had alleged that the student died on November 30, 2021, from injuries sustained in an attack by five senior college students.

The family also alleged that the deceased was attacked for his refusal to join a cult and he was forced to drink a substance by his attackers.

Advice by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) released on January 4, however, disputed the allegations.

It stated that an autopsy revealed the cause of the student’s death as acute bacterial pneumonia due to severe sepsis.

(NAN)