Whitney died before she was taken to hospital, says father

Mr Michael Adeniran, father of the late Whitney Adeniran, a student of Chrisland Schools Opebi, on Monday, told a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja that his daughter was allegedly dead before she was taken to the hospital.

Adeniran told the court that he was informed by the school nurse that his daughter was already dead before she was taken to the hospital.

He said that the nurse had told him that the deceased eyes had dilated but she could not confirm her death because she was not a doctor.

The Lagos State Government had on March 31, 2023, arraigned Chrisland School Limited, Opebi, and its principal, vice principal, and two others over the death of one of the school's students, Whitney Adeniran.

They were arraigned alongside the school before Justice Oyindamola Ogala.

The defendants are Ademoye Adewale, (Cotton candy vendor), Kuku Fatai, Belinda Amao (Principal), and Victoria Nwatu.

The defendants are standing trial on two counts bordering on involuntary manslaughter as well as reckless and negligent acts preferred against them by the state.

The 12-year-old deceased was allegedly electrocuted on February 9, 2023, during the school's inter-house sports activities held in Agege Stadium.

At the resumed hearing of the trial on Monday, Adeniran who is the first prosecution witness narrated this to the court during cross-examination by the school's counsel Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN).

When asked if Whitney was absent from school on February 2, 2023, due to illness.

Adeniran replied,” Yes, she was absent from school, but she was not ill.”

The witness said that on January 20, 2023, the school had called his wife (the deceased's mother), to inform her that Whitney was ill.

He said that his daughter was then taken to Inland Specialist Hospital at Ikeja and the doctor prescribed some drugs for her to be taken and the dosage but that he didn't know the name of the drugs.

When asked if he knew the name of the drugs

He explained that he got to know the name of the drugs from the doctor's report obtained from the hospital issued on February 16, 2023.

Adeniran mentioned the names of the drugs as nitrazepam 5mg and amitriptyline, 12.5mg which he read from an exhibit before the court.

Asked if he was informed by the  Agege Central Hospital and Diagnostic Limited that the deceased died of cardiac arrest, the witness replied that he was informed that she died of cardiac arrest.

He told the court that he could not remember anybody informing him that oxygen was administered to her at the hospital.

The witness also told the court that he could not remember if the school nurse mentioned anything about applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the deceased.

“The Nurse said she tried all she could but that Whitney had already died before taking her out of the stadium.

“She said her eyes had already dilated, but that she could not pronounce her dead because she was not a doctor,” he said.