By Gabriel Oshokha
Magistrate Olabisi Fajana has fixed April 4, 2023 as the commencement of hearing in the corona inquest into the cause of the death of the 12-year-old Chrisland School pupil, Whitney Omodesola Adeniran who died on February 9, 2023 during the school inter-house sports.
Magistrate Fajana fixed the date for the corona inquest after entertaining the submissions of all counsels who appeared before the court sitting in Ogba, Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State.
The counsel to the deceased family, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), had informed the court that they could not file a witness statement as instructed by the
court on the last adjourned date.
Falana told the court that the Magistrate Registry refused to process the enrolling of the witness statement on the grounds that there is no provision for filing of corona processes.
The legal representative of Chrisland School, Mr Olukayode Enitan (SAN), and the State Counsel, Mr Akin George, also corroborated the position of Mr Falana, seeking the court’s directive on how to get their processes filed.
Magistrate Fajana informed the counsels that she would get directives from the Chief Magistrate on how to ensure that the processes were filed before the corona.
Subsequently, Mr Enitan informed the court that he had filed an application before it, seeking to get samples and materials to carry out an independent evaluation of the autopsy report.
But in a counter-reaction, Mr Falana who noted that they had not been served, told the court that the autopsy of the deceased was done in the presence of the school representatives and other concerned parties.
The State Counsel, Mr Akin George, told the court that what the state received was a letter and not an application, and that the state would respond at the appropriate time.
Magistrate Fajana thereafter adjourned until 4, and advised all the counsels to ensure that their processes were filed and confirmed on April 3.