The repeated failure of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to comply with the orders of the Coroner Court to produce a report on an unidentified body believed to be that of Pelumi Onifade is stalling the inquiry into the death of the young journalist with Gboah TV, who was reportedly shot by the Police while covering the #EndSARS protests on October 24, 2020.
The order was first made on November 18, 2025 as part of the efforts to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of Mr Onifade, when the District Coroner investigating the matter, Mrs. Temitope Oladele, ordered 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 matter was then adjourned to December 8, 2025.
On December 8, LASUTH did not produce the report, and the matter was adjourned to January 21, 2026. Although the Court did not sit on January 21, LASUTH did not produce the report as directed. The matter was adjourned to January 30, 2026. On January 30, the hospital did not produce the report, upon which it was adjourned to March 3, 2026.
When the hospital failed to produce the report on March 3, after several adjournments, Mr. Alimi Adamu, leading Mr. Monday Arunsi and Mr. Somto Afulukwe, as lawyers to Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and Pelumi Onifade’s family, observed that the November 18, 2025, order was directed generally at LASUTH and not to any specific official of the hospital, which would make enforcement difficult. He then applied for a fresh order directed specifically to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of LASUTH.
Mrs. Oladele granted the application and ordered the CMD “to give a report of the body with the tag number 1385 said to have been received on behalf of LASUTH on 3rd November 2020 from Ikorodu General Hospital, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of this Order.”
However, when the matter came up on March 24, the hospital did not produce the report and was not represented in court by any official or lawyer.
Mr. Adamu told the Coroner that, based on information received from the Court’s Bailiff, he was aware that the order had been duly served on LASUTH and urged the Court to confirm from its records whether the order had been complied with.
The Coroner checked her records and confirmed that the CMD had not complied with her directive.
Mr. Adamu then applied for “Form 48” (Notice to Show Cause Why Order of Court Should Not Be Enforced by Committal Proceedings) to be issued against the CMD for the continued disobedience of the Court’s order in the light of the hospital’s repeated failure to produce the report.
The Coroner, however, urged caution, saying she would not grant the application at this stage but would give the CMD a final opportunity to comply with her order, noting that in institutional settings, documents served may not always be promptly brought to the attention of the principal officer.
She consequently directed Mr. Monday Arunsi, who appeared with Mr. Adamu, to take steps to follow up with LASUTH to ascertain the reasons for the non-compliance and to facilitate prompt compliance with the Court’s directive.
The Coroner accordingly adjourned the matter to April 7, 2026, for mention.
The coroner’s inquest into Pelumi 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.
