Akure — The Ondo State Government has invoked the provisions of the state’s Coroner’s Law, requesting the Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to appoint a coroner to investigate the death of Mr. Ezekiel Adeniran, Registrar of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo.
The request, made through a letter by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo (SAN), stated that Adeniran died under suspicious circumstances on or about July 17, 2025.
Ajulo stressed that, in the public interest, a formal inquest was necessary to determine the exact cause and manner of death, and whether anyone might bear criminal responsibility. He asked that a magistrate with jurisdiction be assigned to conduct the inquiry in line with the Ondo State Coroner’s Law.
Following the request, Justice Odusola appointed Dr. Dickson Ogunfuyi, Chief Magistrate and Head of the Ondo State Multi-Door Court, to serve as coroner.
The development comes amid controversy surrounding Adeniran’s death. While reports claim he took his own life by ingesting poison after being indicted in a white paper recommending his dismissal, his family maintains he was attacked and forced to drink the substance.
The Attorney-General assured that the process would be transparent and in full compliance with due process.
Adeniran, who became the third substantive Registrar of UNIMED on January 6, 2025, was reportedly killed at his home in Ondo town. Police spokesperson Olayinka Ayanlade confirmed that two men emerged from a nearby bush and forced a substance into the mouth of another person.
In a statement, the university’s Head of Media and Protocol, Mr. Isaac Oluyi, described the loss as devastating, while the Head of Human Resources, Mr. M. Akinkuade, praised the late Registrar as a committed and hardworking administrator whose contributions to the institution would be fondly remembered.
