The Lagos State Government has responded to the alleged plans to exhume the corpse of Whitney Adeniran, a 12-year-old student of Chrisland Schools, Lagos, who died during an inter-house sports, in February.
The government said it would oppose any request for the exhumation, adding that it doesn’t want to “further traumatize the deceased’s family.”
This was disclosed in a statement signed Saturday by the Director of Public Affairs of the state’s Ministry of Justice, Grace Alo, noting that “in any event, the circumstances for exhumation under the Coroners’ Systems Law, 2015 do not arise in this case”.
The rumour had gone viral after the mother of the deceased student, Blessing Adeniran, alleged that Chrisland School requested another autopsy for the deceased who was buried Thursday.
She wrote on her Instagram account, “CHRISLAND!!! Play all your games!!! They just called the police that they want a repeat autopsy. They want to exhume my daughter’s body for another butchering. These people are a bunch of jokers!”
Autopsy report
The Lagos State Government earlier confirmed that the post-mortem report dated 1 March and issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital revealed that the student died from “asphyxia and electrocution”.
It also reassured Lagosians that “anybody found culpable would immediately be charged to court.”
The government in the new statement said it is now working closely with the police “who have given their reassurance that the duplicate case file would be forwarded on Monday, 6 March 2023 to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to aid the speedy issuance of Legal Advice”.
In response to the controversies surrounding the student’s death, the government also ordered the indefinite closure of the school.
Background
Following the death of the student, the deceased’s parents accused the school management of negligence.
They took to social media to seek public intervention to unravel the circumstances that may have led to their daughter’s sudden death while taking part in the sporting events held at the Agege Stadium in Lagos.
The parents insisted that the lack of an ambulance or first aiders at the venue of the sporting events contributed to the student’s death.
In reaction, the Chairman of the school’s Advisory Board, Ike Ofuokwu, noted in a statement that the 12-year-old deceased “slumped in public view and not under any hidden circumstances.”
“Our immediate response was to take advantage of proximity by identifying the nearest medical facility to take her to, where the doctor on duty administered oxygen and every aid possible on her,” said Mr Ofuokwu.
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