Mr Pelumi Onifade, a young journalist with Gboah TV, who was reportedly shot and arrested while covering the #EndSARS protests on October 24, 2020, died from fatal injuries as a result of a “firearm projectile” that entered his body through his lower back, causing extensive damage to his abdomen and massive internal bleeding, according to a postmortem report issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
The report of the postmortem examination, conducted at the LASUTH morgue on November 4, 2020, stated that the autopsy was carried out by Consultant Pathologist, Professor Sunday Sokunle Soyemi, with Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa, Supervising Consultant, in attendance, with the authorization of the Coroner, Mrs. Bola Folarin-Williams. The report was finalized and signed on July 30, 2026.
The autopsy report was submitted to the Coroner Court, which was convened by the Lagos State Government on the orders of a Federal High Court in Lagos to investigate the death of Mr. Onifade, following a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the State Government and the Nigeria Police Force, 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.
The investigating magistrate presiding over the Coroner’s Inquest, Mrs Temitope Oladele, first issued the order directing LASUTH to produce the autopsy report on May 22, 2026, following an application made by Mr. Alimi Adamu, lawyer to MRA and the Onifade Family.
Mr. Adamu argued then that it was clear from the report issued by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of LASUTH, dated March 24, 2026, that autopsies were conducted on the six bodies which were brought to LASUTH on November 3, 2020, from the Ikorodu General Hospital Mortuary, including a body with Tag. No. 1385. He then urged the Court to order the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH to produce the report of the autopsy conducted on the body.
In her ruling on Mr. Adamu’s application, Mrs. Oladele ordered the Chief Medical Examiner of the department to forward the autopsy report to the court within 21 days and fixed further hearing in the matter for June 23, 2026.
However, during the proceedings on June 23, the Court noted that no response or report had been received from LASUTH and directed that a final administrative reminder be issued to LASUTH for the immediate production of the autopsy report. The matter was then adjourned to July 7, 2026.
On July 7, the Court was informed that the autopsy report had been substantially completed by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine at LASUTH, but was awaiting the signature of the Medical Examiner who conducted the examination, who was then said to be away. The matter was then adjourned to July 29.
On July 29, the Coroner did not sit as she was reported to be attending a training programme in Abuja. But LASUTH had still not submitted the report, and the matter was moved to September 2, 2026. On the next adjourned date, September 2, the Coroner again did not sit as she was reported to be “on official engagement”. The autopsy report had still not been submitted to the court, and the matter was further adjourned to September 16, 2026.
The nine-page postmortem report, which LASUTH submitted to the court ahead of the proceedings scheduled for September 16, stated the “Cause of Death” to be “Massive haemoperitoneum” and “Penetrating firearms injury to the abdomen”, and identified the body, which was tagged No. 1385, as that of Pelumi Onifade, based on DNA analysis provided by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre.
The “massive haemoperitoneum” indicates that a very large quantity of blood, sufficient to cause severe blood loss and result in death, was found inside the abdominal cavity as a result of the injuries caused inside the stomach, which the pathologist said are “consistent with a firearm injury to the abdomen with the ricochet of the missile.”
According to the report, the postmortem revealed significant internal injuries, including “bony spicules embedded in the soft tissue of the abdomen” consistent with a penetrating firearm injury, and “fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebrae” while the trajectory of the missile that penetrated the body was “posterior-to-anterior, right-to-left and infero-superior” indicating that the projectile entered the body from behind, through the lower abdomen and pelvis, moving from the lower body to the upper part of the body and from the right side of the body to the left side.
The pathologist made several positive observations about the body based on his external examination, noting that the “face is clean shaven”, the “ears have not been pierced for jewellery”, the “mouth contains a set of natural teeth in good state of repair”, the “finger nails are short, clean and well kept”, that “there is no identifiable nicotine staining of the fingers”, the “toe nails are also short, clean and well kept”, no “external evidence of significant natural disease is observed;” he had no scars, tattoos and other marks.
The report concluded that based on the forensic medical evidence, the fatal injuries resulted from a firearm projectile entering the abdominal region and causing extensive internal damage and haemorrhage.
As the Coroner did not sit as scheduled on September 16, 2026, further hearing in the inquest was adjourned to October 6, 2026.
At the resumption of proceedings in the matter on October 6, Mr. Adamu, leading Ms Iluobe Adams, Mr. Monday Arunsi and Mr. Wilson Imonihe, represented MRA and the Onifade Family, while Mr. Adebola Araba, appeared on behalf of the Attorney-General of Lagos State. Pelumi’s parents were also present in Court.
The Coroner explained her absence at the previous dates fixed for hearing in the matter, saying she had to attend some conferences and other official engagements.
She asked Mr. Araba about the status of the witnesses who had been scheduled to testify on the adjourned dates to which the Attorney-General’s representative said he had contacted Mr. Jimmy Micheal, a colleague of Pelumi Onifade who was reportedly with him at the time of the incident on October 24, 2020.
According to Mr. Araba, Mr. Micheal was unwilling to participate in the proceedings as he said his mother had been involved in an accident and that he is currently solely responsible for her care.
The State Counsel said when he suggested the possibility of giving evidence virtually, Mr. Micheal maintained that he was not in the right frame of mind to testify at the proceedings.
The Coroner asked Mr. Araba the means through which he contacted Mr. Micheal, and the Government’s lawyer explained that their communications were conducted partly through telephone conversations and partly through the exchange of WhatsApp messages.
The Coroner then directed Mr. Araba to print out the relevant WhatsApp conversations and furnish the Court with copies.
She expressed reluctance in taking coercive measures to compel Mr. Micheal’s attendance in court, having regard to the circumstances surrounding the incident and the death of Pelumi, but insisted that he needed to testify in the matter.
Mr. Adamu told the Court that he had also interacted with Mr. Micheal on several occasions and that, although Mr. Micheal was initially reluctant to appear in court, he had subsequently become more receptive.
He said Mr. Micheal had granted several media interviews touching on the incident and suggested that the interviews could be transcribed, forwarded to him for confirmation and signature, and subsequently adopted as his evidence.
The Coroner, however, rejected the suggestion, saying the Court could not rely on such a procedure and questioned the evidentiary validity and authenticity of information contained in such statements.
She said although the Court could accommodate having Mr. Michael testify virtually, she could not accept what she described as a “social media hearing”, stressing that witnesses are required to give their evidence orally before the Court, whether physically or through an approved virtual hearing arrangement.
Mr. Adamu then requested the Court grant him one further opportunity to engage with Mr. Micheal and encourage him to participate voluntarily in the proceedings, adding that should Mr. Micheal remain unwilling to testify after further engagement, the Court could then consider taking appropriate measures to compel his attendance.
The Coroner noted that, given Mr. Adamu’s previous interactions with Mr. Micheal and his representation of the deceased’s family, there was a possibility that Mr. Micheal would be more receptive to an invitation from him to voluntarily appear before the Court and accordingly granted the lawyer’s request.
Mr. Adamu also told the Court that the autopsy report concerning Pelumi had been released, but the Coroner said since the report had already been made public on social media and other channels before she had the opportunity to make an appropriate statement on it in open court, she would not be making any statement concerning the autopsy report at that stage.
She consequently adjourned further hearing in the matter to October 20, 2026.
