In an ongoing effort to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of Mr Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old journalist with Gboah TV, who was reportedly shot and arrested while covering the #EndSARS protests on October 24, 2020, the District Coroner investigating the matter, Mrs Temitope Oladele, has ordered the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to produce “a comprehensive and specific report” relating to an unidentified body tagged 1385, on which it was said to have conducted post-mortem examination in November 2020.
The investigating magistrate issued the order on November 18, 2025, at the request of Mr Monday Arunsi, lawyer to Media Rights Agenda (MRA), who complained of “substantial inaccuracies” contained in the report submitted by the Ikorodu General Hospital, where Mr Onifade’s body was deposited by the Police after he reportedly died while in Police custody.
The coroner’s inquest into Mr Onifade’s death was convened on the orders of a Federal High Court in Lagos following a suit brought against the Police and the Lagos State Government by MRA, demanding, among other things, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the late journalist.
In his judgment in that suit, delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take all necessary steps to ensure an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Onifade’s death and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of death, as well as identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.
Meanwhile, the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Mr Pelumi Onifade has been adjourned to December 5, 2025, for further mention.
The inquest was convened pursuant to the judgment of Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, delivered on July 19, 2024. In that landmark decision, the Court directed the Lagos State Attorney-General to initiate a coroner’s inquest to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding Pelumi’s death, determine its cause, and identify any individuals or institutions that may be culpable.
When the inquest into the death came up on November 18, Mr Arunsi, leading Ms Jennifer Wala of the law firm of Charles Musa & Co., represented MRA and the Onifade family, while Mr Adebola Araba represented the office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State.
Mr Araba informed the Court that, in fulfilment of the undertaking he gave at the previous sitting to follow up with LASUTH, he had consulted with Prof. Adesoyemi, who explained that during the EndSARS period, LASUTH received a significant number of unidentified bodies.
According to him, although DNA analyses were carried out on several of these bodies, the results have still not been transmitted to the Lagos State Government, thereby impeding the State’s ability to provide final confirmation regarding the identities of these deceased individuals.
Mr Arunsi, however, drew the attention of the court to “substantial inaccuracies” contained in the report issued by the Ikorodu General Hospital and submitted that despite the inconsistencies, the description of the unidentified body bearing a mortuary tag number 1385, referenced in Item 6 of the report, closely aligns with the date, location, and circumstances of Mr. Onifade’s death.
Saying that the situation makes accuracy and clarity imperative, he accordingly applied for summons to be issued to all individuals mentioned in the report to compel them to appear before the Coroner to clarify their roles, give further explanations, and submit themselves to cross-examination.
The Coroner, however, observed that many of the inaccuracies identified in the Ikorodu General Hospital report did not directly relate to the core issues of the inquest and therefore urged that the proceedings should maintain its focus on matters central to determining the circumstances surrounding Mr Onifade’s death.
She therefore directed LASUTH to produce a comprehensive and specific report relating exclusively to the body with the mortuary tag number 1385 assigned to it, which was reportedly received from Mr Oluwole Shina Folorunsho, on behalf of Prof. John Obafunwa, for post-mortem examination on November 3, 2020.
Further proceedings in the inquest were thereafter adjourned to December 5, 2025, for further mention.
