Detectives at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti have invited pupils named in the alleged murder of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni at Dowen College in Lekki, Lagos.

The pupils and their parents, who were invited for questioning at the homicide section of the police unit, are expected to report today.

The mother of one of the invited pupils, Edward Brown, said he was innocent.

In a statement released on social media, the woman, Ms. Oluchi Sunday, explained that her son was a day student.

She said: “It has come to my attention that some individuals caused rumours to be peddled on social media platforms suggesting that my son Edward Brown is one of the students allegedly involved in the beating of the late Sylvester Oromoni Jr at a Dowen College hostel, which resulted in his untimely death.

“To set the record straight, I wish to bring the following facts to the public notice, which demonstrate that such rumours are false, malicious and lack any basis whatsoever:

“My son is a day student and has never been a boarder. Because my son is a day student, he was not on the school premises at the time when the unfortunate incident occurred. Precisely in the night of November 21, 2021, during a weekend and so, could not have been in the hostel as alleged.

“In a social media post made on December 1, 2021, on the deceased’s elder brother’s Instagram page, ‘greatoromonii’, five names, including Dowen College were mentioned before the conclusion. My son’s name was not among those names.

“As a result of these false and malicious rumours, my son and I have been under constant attack via social media, with insults and threats being hurled at us daily. This has caused us much emotional distress and mental trauma.

“Therefore, on behalf of myself and my son, Edward Brown, I hereby demand that managers of social media and other platforms where the false and libellous rumours are circulating, immediately retract the offending posts and tender a public apology to us…

“We commiserate with the Oromini family for the tragic loss of Sylvester Oromini Jr and pray for the repose of his soul.”

Sylvester was allegedly assaulted by senior pupils said to belong to a cult over his refusal to join the fraternity.

He was admitted in a Lagos hospital following the attack and died days later.

His relative, who leaked the news on social media, had mentioned the names of those he named as his attackers.