Rita Odafe
Mrs Blessing Adeniran, the mother of 12-year-old Desola Whitney Adeniran, a student of Chrisland High School in Ikeja, Lagos state, who tragically died while attending the school’s Interhouse sports held at the Agege Stadium on February 9, has revealed that the autopsy conducted on her daughter showed she died of electrocution. On February 11, a video of the distraught mother was posted online, in which she said she had gone to the event to watch her daughter participate, but became worried when she didn’t see her during the match or other sporting events. She went to where the students were kept and were told by a male student that Whitney had fainted and been rushed to the hospital.
Mrs Adeniran said her daughter was not ill prior to the inter-house sports day and when she asked the doctor at the hospital the cause of her daughter’s death, he said it appeared to be cardiac arrest. Chrisland School, however, explained that about two weeks prior, Whitney had complained of ill health and chose not to participate in the school’s march-past. The school also claimed Whitney died in “public view and not under any hidden circumstances” and was rushed to the nearest medical facility for first aid.
However, Whitney’s father claimed his daughter “died from a naked wire from one cotton candy vendor machine after she touched it and was electrocuted immediately she leaned on it.” He said water was poured on her which killed her immediately. He also stated that he had documented evidence that his child died from electrocution and not Cardiac arrest. He added that when he saw her corpse, her lips and tongue had already turned black.
The school’s management appealed to Whitney’s parents to establish a scientific confirmation of the basic cause of her death before her burial. An autopsy was conducted and the results showed that Whitney died of electrocution, according to her mum. Mrs Adeniran said her daughter was cut open in order to get the results and her menstrual blood was also taken for tests. She criticized Chrisland Schools for making her family go through the trauma due to the autopsy when they could have just told them how their child died. She also said all those who “insulted, bullied and humiliated” her with the narrative that her daughter was sick prior to her death, will be judged by God.
