Some parents of students of Dowen College have held a meeting via zoom where they discussed the social life and the condition of the hostels in the school.
Recall that 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni died a few days ago after allegedly being tortured by a gang of senior boys.
Lagos State Government has temporarily sealed off the school while investigations are underway.
There has been worldwide outrage over the unfortunate death with many calling for justice for the deceased and his family.
A concerned parent, Ojiugo 1 Busisiwe@nwamgbeke said that “Dowen college has been a den of bullies and the school authority are aware and they did nothing. Listen to this zoom meeting by Down college parents over the death of Sylvester Oromoni. #Justiceforsylvester“
The recorded video of the zoom meeting making the rounds on social media shows a former counsellor of the school stating that the structure of the school hostel was not built in a way that enables caretakers monitor the students.
According to him, “I worked at Dowen College for several years. One of the problems we have with most of the boarding houses today is that the structures are not purpose built for boarding houses. I might be referring to Dowen College.
“In a situation where you have several floors and no floor has a house parent monitoring the students, By the time you hear a sound and you go upstairs, the seniors have changed the story. That’s exactly what happened at Dowen College.
“From the first day they moved most of the students from a hired building into a permanent hostel, it was a time bomb waiting. Eventually, I resigned because of that situation. The children are not well monitored.“
An irate mother tongue-lashed the counsellor for not speaking up before or even after leaving the school. She lamented that her own son was also bullied in spite of the fact she paid N3 million as school fees.
According to her, “The thing that they did to Sylvester Oromoni, they did it to my son. They entered the room. They put off the light. Seven of them who brought my son to kneel down. They put a suitcase on his head.
“They were dancing round him like an occultic gathering. They were beating him at the same time. They took out a phone, They recorded it. That video is online somewhere. And you are telling me that you left Dowen because of the bullying. Why did you not say it so that people would not make the mistake of taking our children..I have been crying since on Thursday when I saw this video. I have not eaten. I have not drank. I have not slept. A child has died. That boy was 11 years. Same age with my son. It could have been my son that died. I was lucky. Sylvester wasn’t lucky.
“You are saying this now having observed this thing for nine years. What basis are you talking? On what grounds are you talking? They give security man in Dowen college ATM to go and withdraw N50, 000 and they begin to spend the money. Children would spend money. The children call security men by their names. ”
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