Killing of Pelumi Onifade

Pelumi Emmanuel Onifade (born 2000) was a Nigerian reporter who was extrajudicially killed in Lagos in October 2020 while covering the #EndSARS Protests. While on assignment, he was arrested. His body was found at a morgue several days later and has not been returned to his family. The circumstances of his death remain unclear. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for Nigerian authorities to investigate the circumstances of his death.

Background

Protesters at the #EndSARS protest in Lagos, Nigeria in 2020.

At the time of his death, Onifade was a sophomore student of history at Tai Solarin University of Education.[1] He was interning as a reporter with Gboah TV, a Lagos-based online news channel.[2]

On 24 October 2020, Onifade travelled to Abule Egba in Lagos State to cover the #ENDSARS protest for Gboah TV.[2] While on assignment, he filmed a report reportedly showing the President of the Yoruba Youth Forum, Olusegun Abiodun Bolarinwa, shooting into a crowd of protesters.[3] From there, he had gone to cover an attempted break-in at a government facility in Agege. He was later arrested.

Onifade was last seen alive later that day in police custody at Ikeja.[4][5] It was at this point that he was reportedly hit by a bullet and carried away in a police van. His body was found six days later at a mortuary in Ikorodu, Lagos.[6] The circumstances that led to Onifade's death were kept away from his family and from the public, and his body was not released to his family for burial.[7][8]

The injustice of Onifade's death sparked sustained calls for investigation and justice advanced by media rights organisations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, the Media Foundation for West Africa and the Media Rights Agenda.[9][10][11][12]

On October 17, 2024, four years after his death, a coroner's inquest was commenced at a Nigerian Federal High Court in Lagos on the orders of the court to determine the actual cause of Onifade's death.[13][14][15][16] After almost 6 years passed since he was murdered, the investigating magistrate overseeing the coroner’s inquiry disclosed on June 25, 2026 that she had received the autopsy report confirming that an unidentified human body deposited at the mortuary of Ikorodu General Hospital was indeed that of the slain young reporter.[17][18][19] This came after the court on June 5, 2026 ordered the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre to submit its forensic reports on the unidentified cadaver tagged No. 1385 within 21 days.[20][21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mbamalu, Socrates (2021-03-18). "144 Days of Tears for Pelumi Onifade's Mum as Lagos Govt Holds on to #EndSARS Victim's Corpse". Foundation For Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  2. 1 2 Ojukwu, Daniel (2024-10-05). "4 Years on, Lagos Govt Yet to Release Slain Journalist Pelumi Onifade's Body to Mother". Foundation For Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  3. ↑ Egwu, Patrick (2021-11-23). "LIVES ON THE LINE: Pelumi Onifade's last reporting assignment". TheCable. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  4. ↑ Alabi, Mojeed (November 3, 2020). "#EndSARS: How police killed 20-year-old Nigerian journalist". Premium Times. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  5. ↑ "#MySARSStory: Killed and Missing | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  6. ↑ "Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  7. ↑ "10-year-old Sister Of Slain Journalist Begs Buhari, Sanwo-Olu, Police To Release Brother's Corpse | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  8. ↑ Abimbola, Oluwakemi (2020-11-23). "VIDEO: Policemen shot my only son, aged 20, seized his corpse – Mom". The Punch. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  9. ↑ "Unresolved death of journalist Pelumi Onifade: MFWA, CPJ, IPI petition Lagos State Governor". Media Foundation For West Africa. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  10. ↑ Asante, Kwaku (2023-07-27). "Nigerian authorities must ensure justice for Journalist Pelumi Onifade". Media Foundation For West Africa. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  11. ↑ Abimbola, Oluwakemi (2020-11-23). "VIDEO: Policemen shot my only son, aged 20, seized his corpse – Mom". The Punch. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  12. ↑ "Nigerian authorities must account for death of journalist Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  13. ↑ Oyewo, Dayo (2024-08-07). "Court orders Lagos to probe killing of journalist during #EndSars". The Punch. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  14. ↑ "MFWA welcomes Lagos State Government's decision to probe journalist, Pelumi Onifade's death". Media Foundation For West Africa. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  15. ↑ Oluwafemi, Ayodele (2024-10-18). "Coroner begins inquiry into journalist's death, seeks information from Lagos task force". TheCable. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  16. ↑ Akinmoyeje, Timileyin (2024-10-18). "Judicial Inquiry Into Pelumi Onifade's Death Launched 4 Years After His Death". Foundation For Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  17. ↑ Ayodele, Aduwo (2026-06-25). "Pelumi Onifade: Lagos coroner says late journalist's parents' DNA test matches unidentified body at Ikorodu morgue". Peoples Gazette. Abuja, Nigeria. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  18. ↑ Tomo, Esther (2026-06-24). "DNA test confirms body of missing #EndSARS journalist Pelumi Onifade". The ICIR. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  19. ↑ Oluwafemi, Ayodele (2026-06-24). "Coroner: DNA test result shows unidentified body dropped at Ikorodu morgue was Pelumi Onifade". TheCable. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  20. ↑ Igbintade, Wale. "EndSARS: Coroner Gives LASUTH, DNA Centre 21 Days to Submit Reports on Body Linked to Pelumi Onifade". This Day. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  21. ↑ USMAN, Mustapha (2026-06-05). "Coroner orders LASUTH, DNA Centre to submit autopsy, test results in Pelumi Onifade's death". The ICIR. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
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