15th March, 2022
By Adenike Ayodele and Moji Eniola
A Ukraine-trained nurse at Dowen College, Ms Omobola Kayode, said the late 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., who was allegedly beaten up by some senior students had a minor injury on his thigh when she came in contact with him.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kayode, a graduate of Bachelor of Science (BSc), 2015, in Nursing from Ukraine University, joined Dowen College three weeks prior the the death of late Oromoni Jnr.
Testifying on Tuesday before an Ikeja Coroner’s Court, the Nurse, while responding to questions from the Coroner, Mr Mikhail Kadiri, said she came in contact with the deceased on Nov. 22, 2021 when he complained of thigh pain.
She said: “The deceased came to the sick bay with his friend on Nov. 22, 2021, which was on a Monday and complained of thigh pain.
“He came in unaided and told me he fell down when he wanted to pick his Bible.
“On that same day, I referred him to the doctor. The doctor told me to massage his right thigh with a deep heat spray and gave him paracetamol thereafter.
“He slept and went to the hostel in the evening. Later in the evening, I went for follow up. The house master called him out for me to check him up. I saw that he was limping and I massaged him again with the spray.
“The doctor called the mother when the deceased complained and she promised to send someone to pick him up on Tuesday.”
She said she was downstairs checking students’ temperature as part of the COVID-19 measures on Nov. 23, 2022, when the uncle of the deceased came to pick him up at the sick bay.
“I went upstairs and met the deceased lying down. I assisted him up. He put his hand around his uncle’s waist and he led him to the car.
The coroner asked if it was necessary to call the mother of the deceased. The witness said, “It was the school policy I met. If a student is sick, the parent must be aware.”
The nurse, however, said she would be surprised to hear that the deceased complained on Sunday and was tended to by a school nurse.
During cross-examination by the counsel representing Lagos State government, Mr Akin George, the witness said she had worked in three different hospitals because the condition of the college was better than the previous places of employment.
Probing the witness further on the kind of cases she received at the sick bay, she said, “we receive cases like headache, stomach pain while playing football.
“The only one I experienced where we had to transfer the student to Lifeline Hospital was when a student came in with bleeding on the tongue while he was playing with his friends.
“We had to take him to hospital because it was an emergency. We also consulted the parent concerned.”
Responding to questions from the counsel to the Oromoni family, Mr Andrew Efole, the witness said she had medical record of the period she attended to the deceased but was it taken by the police during their investigation.
Efole asked if the witness was aware that the principal of the school had said in her statement to the Police dated Dec. 2, 2021 that she (the witness) massaged the deceased on Nov. 21, 2021.
She replied, “It was my off day and I came in at night. No, I did not massage the leg on that day.”
Kayode said she would not know if the principal of the school lied in her statement to the police that she massaged the deceased on Nov. 21, 2021.
In another cross-examination by Dowen College counsel, Mr Anthony Kpokpo, the witness claimed she was not aware of the viral video of the deceased online.
The witness further told the court that she worked from Monday to Sunday; she, however, took off days on request.
She also confirmed that there was another nurse called Kafayat and they were both answerable to the doctor.
“Kafayat worked From Monday to Friday but she was not on duty on that day. No nurse was in school. The two of us are both answerable to the doctor,” she said.
The nurse reiterated that the deceased’s case was a minor one but “we put a call to the parent to take him home because it was the policy of the school, adding that it was the decision of the doctor.
The coroner adjourned the continuation of trial until March 21.