Widow Sues Ondo Govt over Son’s Disappearance from Juvenile Home

Fidelis David in Akure

A widow, Mrs. Opeyemi Adegboyega, has dragged the Ondo State Government before the state High Court over the alleged disappearance of his child, Oluwaseun Omoniyi, from the custody of the State Juvenile Home in Akure.

Also joined in the suit are the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Olubunmi Osadahun, and the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Charles Titiloye.

The claimant, who lost her husband some months ago, said the victim was admitted into the juvenile home in 2017 when he was three months old while she was in a hospital receiving treatment.

According to Adegboyega, while she was in the hospital receiving treatment, the state juvenile home offered to take care and custody of her three children to enable her to follow up on her treatment, but she and her mother agreed to leave just the victim, a three-month-old at that time and youngest of her children.

Upon her full recovery a month later, she said she went back to the juvenile home with her mother to get her baby boy, but she was told that her child had died and the corpse had been deposited at the mortuary of the Ondo State Specialist Hospital.

On getting to the state hospital, she was told that the hospital did not receive any corpse of a child from the Ondo State Juvenile Home at that period, and all petitions on the matter to the state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; the Ministry of Women Affairs and the Department of State Services had yielded no result.

Adegboyega, who filed the suit through her lawyer, Mr. Oju Kekemeke, sought an order of the court directing the defendants to account for the whereabouts of Omoniyi Oluwaseun whose disappearance occurred while at the custody of the Ondo State Juvenile Home under the supervision of the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs.

She also sought an order of the court to direct the defendants to pay her a sum of N50 million as “exemplary and aggravated damages,” N40million as general damages for the excruciating pain, anguish, personal loss, psychological trauma caused by the negligent act of the defendants, as well as N5million damages as “cost of this action.”

The claimant also sought a court order that 15 percent interest per annum be paid on the judgment sum from the date of the judgment until the judgment sum is finally liquidated.

After filing the suit, Adegboyega’s lawyer, Oju Kekemeke, vowed that the matter would be pursued until her client gets justice.

Kekemeke said: “It is unfortunate that the system took advantage of Opeyemi Adegboyega’s medical condition at the time, therefore, the system will be held accountable for this flagrant breach of public duty.”