Whitney Adeniran’s Death: Family and Chrisland Agree on Independent Autopsy

The management of Chrisland International School Limited has been granted leave to have access to the toxicology samples of tests conducted on the late Miss Whitney Adeniran, the 12-year-old student who died on February 9, 2023, during the school’s inter-house sports at the Agege Sports Stadium, Lagos.

Delivering a ruling Tuesday on the application filed before the court by the school, seeking leave to carry out an independent evaluation (sample and material) of the autopsy report conducted by the Lagos State Government, Magistrate Olabisi Fajana, also fixed April 17, 2023, for the parents of deceased to testify in the ongoing coroner inquest.

This, according to Magistrate Olabisi Fajana, was to enable an independent forensic pathologist’s assessment and evaluation of the autopsy.

Magistrate Fajana gave the order at the Corona inquest held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at the Samuel Ilori Court House, Ikeja District Court 13, Ogba, Lagos.

The Magistrate affirmed that the application for an independent review was served on both the State and the Counsel to the family and neither the family nor their Counsel filed any counter affidavit to oppose the motion for an independent reevaluation to unravel what really happened on the tragic date.

Counsel to the State had earlier applied that the court should order the attendance of the State Pathologist at the cost of the Applicant which the Applicant did not object to.

With both the family and Chrisland School’s counsel aligned on this position, the Court therefore directed that the consultation by the independent forensic pathologist be carried out within Lagos State and the Pathologist of the deceased’s family granted access as an observer during the exercise.

Though the coroner inquest had fixed April 4, 2023, to commence hearing, the Chrisland International School, however, filed an application on April 3, seeking for an order of the court, granting leave to the applicant to be supplied with some items from the Chief Medical Examiner of the Lagos State University Hospital (LASUTH) or relevant officer, so as to enable the school consult with an independent pathologist.

The items included: the paraffin block of the skin sample and slides from which the diagnosis of electrocution was made; samples of the urine, blood and other body fluid collected at autopsy; samples of bone and muscle taken from the deceased for purpose of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) independent analysis.

Others are:

“All photographs taken during the conduct of the autopsy, copies of all histology slides reported as part of the post mortem examination.

“Copies of any other working sample and documents made in the course of the autopsy and result of all toxicology tests conducted.”

The state counsel, Mr. Akin George did not oppose the application.

Following the death of Whitney Adeniran, 12, on February 9, 2023, during the school’s inter-house sports at the Agege Sports Stadium, the Lagos State Government had, on February 13, ordered a coroner’s inquest to establish the cause of the tragedy.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, had assured that a scrupulous investigation would be carried out to ascertain the cause of death.

On March 2, 2023, the state government announced that the post mortem report it received revealed that Whitney Adeniran died as a result of Asphyxia and electrocution.