Onifade Pelumi was a 20-year old intern with Gboah TV, an online television. He was also a 200-level student of the Department of History, Tai-Solarin University of Education. He was reportedly arrested by officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force while covering the #EndSARS protests, and later found dead at a mortuary in Ikorodu, where his body was deposited.
We call for an investigation to the circumstances of his death and the outcome made public.
October 24, 2020
Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old intern with Gboah TV and a 200-level student of History at Tai Solarin University of Education, was arrested by officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force while covering the #EndSARS protests.
He was reportedly shot before being dragged into a police van at Abattoir, Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.
October 24-27, 2020
Pelumi’s family and colleagues searched police stations and other locations across Lagos without success. They later posted a missing-person notice on social media.
October 27, 2020
Pelumi’s family was contacted by the Head of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force), CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, and invited to their Ikeja headquarters to discuss the possibility of Pelumi being in police custody.
October 28, 2020
The police task force informed Pelumi’s family and colleagues that five people had been arrested at Agege on October 24, and that one of them was dead. His corpse was found at the Ikorodu mortuary.
November 11, 2020
Olumuyiwa Adejobi, spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, confirmed to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that Pelumi’s death had been reported to the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry on police brutality.
August 4, 2021
An originating summons was filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), through its counsel Charles Musa (SAN), against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of Lagos State, seeking justice for Pelumi’s death.
August 6, 2024
Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordered the Lagos State Government to investigate the death of Pelumi Onifade, conduct a coroner’s inquest, and identify and prosecute those responsible.
August 22, 2024
MRA wrote to the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice urging compliance with the court’s directive to commence the inquest.
September 2, 2024
The Lagos State Government responded, assuring that the State Chief Coroner had been instructed to initiate investigations into Pelumi’s death.
September 3, 2024
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and International Press Institute (IPI) renewed calls for the release of Pelumi’s remains and for those responsible to be held accountable.
October 17, 2024
The judicial inquiry (coroner’s inquest) into the death of Pelumi Onifade began in Lagos. The presiding magistrate pledged a thorough and impartial investigation to uncover the truth and provide closure for the family.
February 21, 2025
The Coroner reiterated the directive to the Office of the Attorney-General to liaise with LASUTH, DNA & Forensic Centre, Gboah TV, Lagos Task Force, and Ikorodu & Yaba General Hospitals for information on the recovery and medical assessment of the deceased’s body.
July 8, 2025
The District Coroner directed the Ikorodu General Hospital to release information regarding Pelumi Onifade.
July 31, 2025
MRA’s lawyers visited Ikorodu General Hospital to obtain records on when Pelumi’s body was brought to the mortuary, when it was released, or its current status.
August 8, 2025
MRA’s lawyers reported to the Coroner that the Medical Director of Ikorodu General Hospital had declined to release the requested records, citing confidentiality.
October 22, 2025
During proceedings at the Coroner’s Inquest, the Ikorodu General Hospital confirmed submission of the hospital records relating to Pelumi Onifade to the District Coroner in compliance with the earlier order.
The case was adjourned to November 9, 2025.
November 18, 2025
The coroner issued an order directing LASUTH to provide a comprehensive report concerning the unidentified body linked to the case (Body Tag 1385).
March 3, 2026
Because LASUTH did not comply with the November 2025 order, the coroner issued a fresh directive specifically to the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH to submit a report within 14 days on the whereabouts of the unidentified body tagged 1385, allegedly received from Ikorodu General Hospital on November 3, 2020.
The case was adjourned to March 24, 2026
March 24, 2026
LASUTH failed to comply with the directive requiring the Chief Medical Director to submit a report within 14 days on the whereabouts of the unidentified body tagged 1385.
The hospital neither produced the report nor appeared in court. The Coroner declined to initiate committal proceedings at this stage, granting a final opportunity for compliance.
The case was adjourned to April 7, 2026.