Sylvester Oromoni, a Dowen College student, died from acute inflammatory pneumonia caused by severe sepsis, according to a consultant pathologist at the Central Hospital in Warri, Delta State.
Dr Clement Vhriterhire, who performed the initial autopsy on late Sylvester Oromoni, testified before the coroner's inquest into Oromoni's death on Monday, March 14.
During his testimony on Monday before an Ikeja Coroner's Court, the pathologist, while replying to questioning from the Coroner, Mr Mikhail Kadiri, stated that, contrary to social media allegations, no evidence of chemical poisoning were identified in the dead.
He stated: "This is the final autopsy report I wrote. After I had calmed down and checked my microscopic slide, I married everything together because there was nothing important from the toxicological.
He had acute inflammatory pneumonia due to severe sepsis in the absence of chemical intoxication and diverse organs displaying inflammatory processes. This is the conclusion of my report."
On Monday, Vhriterhire's testimony was consistent with that of Dr. Sokunle Soyemi, a pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja.
During cross-examination, Vhriterhire stated that he was handed coroner papers by the police to perform a post-mortem on Sylvester's body on December 2, 2021.
He stated that prior to the operation, he was informed that the dead had been beaten.
According to Vhriterhire: "As for the purported cause of death, I expected to see clear signs of serious beating and injuries on the corpse.
"Externally looking at the body, I did not detect any open injuries during my physical examination.
"I should have seen signs of considerable bleeding in the abdominal cavity; by the time I opened the cavities, there were no signs of beating."
When questioned if the victim's father told the pathologist about the nature of the beating before the autopsy began, he said no.
He stated: "I don't recall receiving any information about the youngster being beaten with any instrument, your honour.
"I saw no evidence of ruptured internal organs."
Coroner Mikhail Kadiri then asked Dr. Vhriterhire what he thought about the allegations that the youngster died as a result of beatings and chemical poisoning.
Vhriterhire informed the court that some of the replies were not straightforward.
Vhriterhire further stated: "Nothing will lend validity to the claim that he died as a result of chemical intoxication. I didn't notice any injury that may account for death. There is no evidence of sufficient gravity to account for death."
Vhriterhire stated that septic shock was a possible cause of death while being cross-examined by Dowen College lawyer, Mr Anthony Kpokpo.
Mr Femi Falana, Oromoni's family lawyer, then inquired about the bruising he noticed on the dead.
"When I reflected on the back, there was this colour that may have been inflicted months before," he explained.
He agreed that a big dose of antibiotics, blood transfusion, intravenous hydration, and other early Dr. Soyemi recommendations could have saved the youngster.