“They kicked him, matched his waist. He suffered liver enlargement due to congealed blood” — Father of late Dowen college student, Sylvester Oromoni, speaks

Sylvester Oromoni, the father of 12-year-old boy, Junior, who died after he was allegedly tortured by his fellow students for refusing to join a cult, have opened up about the incident.

Speaking with TheCable Lifestyle, Mr Sylvester disclosed that his son was repeatedly bullied by the accused students.

He said,

“My son suffered. 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.”

According to him, Dowen College temporarily suspended the boys involved and Junior was also taken to a new hostel, but the bullying and intimidation still continued 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’. 

I considered removing him but reconsidered since his sisters were still in the school".

Mr. Sylvester said he got to know about the new incident on November 21st, after the school called his wife to inform her that their son was in the school clinic, injured.

He added that his son couldn’t stand because his waist was bent and one side of his belly was swollen. His mouth was black and he couldn’t sleep at night.

The grieving father revealed that Junior told his mum that he didn’t play football, neither did he fall. Thus, countering the school’s claim that he got injured while playing football.

Speaking further, Mr Sylvester said, 

“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.

He said Junior suffered liver enlargement due to congealed blood. It was also claimed that Junior was fed with a chemical-like liquid substance for refusing to join the cult.

“The parents of the boys are wealthy. They withdrew them. Some of the parents are planning to fly the children out of the country. 

The boys are five in number: four are in SS2 while one is in SS1,”

he added.

The state police command is yet to comment on this development. Meanwhile academic activities in the school have been suspended for two days.