Yesterday, at the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, neither the Faith Academy in Otta, Ogun State and the 16 other defendants, nor their counsels showed up to defend themselves on charges of complicity in the death of 11-year-old Morenike Arulogun, who died of cerebral malaria in 2008.
The sitting Judge, B. I. Molokwu, was surprised that no member of the defence party was present for the hearing of the preliminary objection they had submitted to the court in late September, 2009. She adjourned the case to allow for another notice of hearing to be served the defendants. "We will give them time to appear.
The defendants will be served with fresh notices. I am doing this because I don't want anyone to accuse me of not giving them fair hearing. The case is adjourned to Friday, October 30, 2009," the judge said.
The counsel to the plaintiff, Oluyinka Oyeniji of Banwo, Adeyemo and Igbokwe Chambers was also surprised that Faith Academy and its lawyers would feel no obligation to show up in a case involving the demise of an ex-student of Faith Academy. "It is surprising that a counsel can choose to come or not at will. And this to me shows the levity they [Faith Academy] have been taking the death of Morenike, whose death was occasioned by their poor health management.
Let's hope they'll treat the court with more respect," he said. Mr. Oyeniji said he was further surprised because last week on October 7, 2009, he had submitted to the Federal High Court his chamber's counter-affidavit to the preliminary objections of the defendants, which he said was acknowledged by the defendants counsel.
When NEXT contacted Ogochukwu Mbamalu of Jumbo Chambers, the counsel to Faith Academy and eight other defendants mentioned in the law suit No. FHC/AB/CS/58/09, he said he was never notified when the case was coming up. "Yes, they served us their counter-affidavit on the 7th but we were not given any hearing notice. The Federal High Court should have given us notice but they did not. We've just been informed of the new date and we will be there," Mr. Mbamalu said. For Toye and Idorenyin Arulogun, who were both present at the court, their cause is a justified one, which they say they have thought over ever since their daughter Morenike passed away on November 21, 2008. "It is a very traumatic experience we are going through.
Morenike loved to sing but now there is no more music in our family. We don't wish anyone goes through what we are facing and that is why we are creating awareness on the Movement Against Negligence In Boarding Schools (MANIBS)," Mrs. Arulogun said. "(The movement's) aim is to get schools and regulatory bodies like the Ministries of Education and Health to establish the procedures schools should follow in the management of students in their trust.
Many people have suffered this kind of negligence and it is time we spoke out against this," Mrs. Arulogun added.
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