By Rita Elenwo
The Lagos Coroner, Magistrate Bola Folarin-Williams, investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the boy with the missing intestine, Adebola Akin-Bright, commenced its sitting on Friday.
The state government had ordered the inquest following public outcry over the controversial death of Akin-Bright in August at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital.
During the proceeding, which is taking place at the Lagos State Magistrate Court in Ebute-Metta, the Coroner informed parties in the matter that the autopsy report is ready and will soon get to the court.
Magistrate Folarin-Williams also stated that it may be necessary for the father and the mother of the deceased to file their respective applications on what to do with the corpse so that the court can rule on it.
She said this in reaction to the statement made by the counsel from the state’s Ministry of Justice, Ola Akinde, that necessary tests and examinations have been conducted on the corpse and that there is a post-mortem report.
Akinde also said that the office of the Lagos State Attorney General is aware of letters from solicitors to the deceased’s father seeking to preserve the corpse. In contrast, the mother seeks the release of the corpse to her for burial.
He, however, claimed that the state is not against any of the requests but would leave the decision to the court.
The lawyer to the father of the deceased, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), 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.
He also stated that they wanted to call the doctors who treated the deceased in LASUTH and all police officers involved in the investigation to understand what happened to the deceased.
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.
The senior lawyer further informed the Coroner that he became aware on Friday morning that Femi Falana (SAN) is the lead counsel to the deceased’s mother and would be liaising with them to harmonise the parent’s viewpoints.
He further maintained that in the interim, it would be good to preserve the corpse since the Coroner has already assumed jurisdiction over the matter
Akinde then informed the Coroner that the state was ready to cooperate with and assist the parties by making available all witnesses and documents, including all doctors and medical personnel that attended to the deceased at LASUTH.
After listening to all the parties, Magistrate Folarin-Williams stated that the sitting is for preliminary proceedings to set the course for the inquest.
She also asked the parties to meet to harmonise their positions and submit the list of the names of witnesses to be called before the next date.
She further directed that the autopsy report and all necessary documents be made available to counsel the parties.
The Coroner then adjourned the matter to November 24 for further proceedings.
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