The Coroner, Magistrate Olabisi Fajana, who is conducting an inquest into the death of the 12-year-old student of Chrisland International School, Whitney Adeniran, has granted the school permission to engage an independent forensic pathologist to conduct a second autopsy on the remains of the deceased.
Magistrate Fajana granted the permission while ruling on an application filed by Chrisland School, seeking some items obtained from the corpse of the deceased to enable it to consult with an independent forensic pathologist and to allow the consultant to testify on his findings before the court accurately.
The school had through its lawyer, Olukayode Enitan, told the coroner that the request was made because its representative Pathologist, Olugbenga Oyewole, only attended the autopsy as an observer and did carry out any tests or dealt with any samples.
The state counsel, Akin George and that of the family of the deceased, Femi Falana, did not object to the application.
George, however, applied orally that the court should order that the state pathologist must be in attendance at the cost of the applicant.
The counsel to the deceased’s family aligned with the submissions made by the state.
The items ordered to be released to the applicant are the paraffin block of the skin sample and slides from which the diagnosis of electrocution was made.
The samples of the urine, blood and other body fluid collected at autopsy. Others are samples of bone and muscle taken from the deceased for independent DNA analysis.
Other items are all photographs taken during the conduct of the autopsy, copies of any other working sample and documents made in the course of the autopsy and the result of all toxicology tests conducted.
The coroner, however, ordered that the chief medical examiner of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) or an officer assigned by him shall be present while transmitting the listed items for the consultation of the independent forensic pathologist of the applicant.
Magistrate Fajana has adjourned the inquest to May 2 for further hearing.
The deceased died on February 9, 2023, during the school’s inter-house sports activities at the Agege Stadium.
