The Lagos State Government has ordered a Coroner’s Inquest to ascertain the cause of death in the case of the late Whitney Adeniran, a 12-year-old student of Chrisland School.
Whitney died on Thursday, 9th February, 2023, during the school’s inter-house sports competition at the Agege Stadium, Lagos.
The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) gave the directive in a statement today, noting that a thorough investigation would be carried out to ascertain the cause of death.
He said, “A Coroner’s Inquest has immediately been requested in line with sections 14 and 15 of the Coroners’ Systems Law, Laws of Lagos State 2015, to determine the cause and circumstances of the death of the student”.
“By Section 14 (1) (d) of the Coroners’ System Law of the State: A report of death shall be made to any of the agencies for the report of death or the office of the Coroner and be subject to post-mortem examination where there is reasonable cause to believe that the cause of death was: violent, unnatural or suspicious.
“Section 15 (1) and (9) further enjoins the Coroner to hold an inquest whenever he or she is informed that the death of the deceased person was in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation or believes an inquest is desirable following the report of a reportable death.”
The Commissioner noted that as a responsible government, the security and well-being of citizens are of utmost importance, assuring the public that everything will be done to ensure that the cause of death is determined.
“The findings of this investigation will be made public in due course and appropriate sanctions meted out to anyone found culpable”, Onigbanjo stated.
