THE Lagos State government has concluded plans to charge Chrisland School, some members of staff and a vendor to court in the death of a student, Whitney Adeniran, for manslaughter, recklessness and negligence.
The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, through the Office of the Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, in a statement on Friday, said the suspects would be charged in line with Sections 224 and 251 of the Criminal Law, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
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Recall that Adeniran was reported to have slumped during her school’s inter-house sports event on February 9 at the Agege Sports Stadium and was subsequently rushed to Central Hospital, Agege, Lagos, where she was confirmed “brought in dead” (BID) by the doctor on duty.
However, an autopsy conducted by the government revealed that the 12-year-old died from Asphyxia and electrocution.
The case was referred to the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) which carried out a thorough investigation with the help of other agencies. The file was subsequently forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP’s Office on Monday, March 20, 2023, for review of the duplicate case file.
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On March 23, 2023, the DPP issued legal advice and concluded that a prima facie case of Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts had been established against the School, some members of Staff and one of the Vendors.
Following the controversial circumstance surrounding the student’s death, the state ordered a coroner’s inquest into the matter to ascertain the cause of death.
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The Coroner, Magistrate Olabisi Fajana, later disclosed that the coroner’s inquest to unravel the cause of death of the 12-year-old would commence on April 4.
According to Onigbanjo, “they will therefore be charged with the offences of Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts contrary to Sections 224 & 251 of the Criminal Law, Ch C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
“Information will be filed in accordance with the legal advice issued by the DPP. Certified True Copies of the legal advice are available on the Ministry of Justice website (www.lagosstatemoj.org.).”
