Proceedings on Friday commenced to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of Master Adebola Akin-Bright, the boy with the missing intestine who died at LASUTH before His Honour, Mrs Bola Folarin-Williams, District Coroner, sitting at Magistrate Court 4, Botanical Gardens, Ebute-Metta, Lagos
All parties were legally represented; Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa led Mr Aramide Adeogun and Mr Ezekiel Nnadi for the father of the deceased, Mr Olumuyiwa Akin-Bright, who is the complainant, while Mrs Abiodun Kolawole represented the African Women Lawyers Association and Mr O.A. Akinde, state counsel from the Ministry of Justice represented the Lagos State Government, as an interested party.
When the case was called, Mr Akinde informed the court that necessary tests and examinations had been conducted on the corpse and there is a post-mortem report, adding that the office of the Attorney General is aware of letters from solicitors to the father of the deceased seeking to preserve the corpse while the mother seeks the release of the corpse to her for burial.
He added that the state will not be objecting to any of the requests, and the court should use its discretion in granting any of the requests.
Adegboruwa informed the Coroner that the complainant would love to call the medical director of Hobitox Medical Centre, where the deceased was first admitted and treated, the doctors who treated the deceased in LASUTH and all policemen involved in the investigation, in order to have a proper understanding of what actually happened to the deceased.
The coroner consequently informed that she got information that the autopsy report was ready and would soon get to the court, and Adegboruwa applied that it be made available to all the parties in the case.
The coroner also stated that it may be necessary for the deceased’s father and mother to file their respective applications on what to do with the corpse so that the court can rule on it.
Mr Adegboruwa, however, stated that since the deceased died in LASUTH, it may be better to have an independent examination of the corpse by experts such as the Nigerian Medical Association to avoid the likelihood of bias and conflict of interests.
He further informed the coroner that he became aware on Friday morning before the Court sat that Mr Femi Falana, SAN, is the lead counsel to the mother of the deceased, and he would prefer to liaise with Mr Falana, SAN so that both father and mother can harmonize their viewpoints.
He asked that it be good to preserve the corpse in the interim since the Coroner has already assumed jurisdiction over the matter.
Mr Akinde informed the Coroner that the state is ready to cooperate with and assist the parties by making all witnesses and documents available, including all doctors and medical personnel who attended to the deceased at LASUTH.
After listening to all the parties, the coroner stated that Friday’s sitting was for preliminary proceedings to set the course for the inquest and asked the parties to meet to harmonise their views and submit the list of the names of witnesses to be called before the next date.
She then directed that the autopsy report and all necessary documents be made available to counsel to the parties and adjourned the case till November 24, 2023, for further proceedings.
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