Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A nine-page postmortem report has finally confirmed what the family of Pelumi Onifade and a nation of journalists have long suspected. The 20-year-old Gboah TV reporter did not die of natural causes or accident. He was shot. A firearm projectile entered his body through his lower back and tore through his abdomen, causing massive internal bleeding that killed him. The autopsy was conducted at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital morgue on November 4, 2020, by Consultant Pathologist Professor Sunday Sokunle Soyemi, with Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa as supervising consultant. The examination was authorised by Coroner Mrs Bola Folarin-Williams. But the report was not finalised and signed until July 30, 2026, nearly six years after the young journalist's death.
On October 24, 2020, Onifade was covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos when he was reportedly shot and arrested by police officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force. He was wearing a jacket that clearly identified him as a reporter. He was taken away anyway. Days later, his family discovered an unidentified body bearing a gunshot wound at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary. The body was tagged No. 1385. For years, his family fought to establish whether that body was their son. In June 2026, a DNA analysis conducted by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre finally confirmed the truth. The body was Pelumi Onifade. His mother, Adebose Onifade, had provided the DNA sample that matched. The identification ended years of agonising uncertainty but opened a new chapter of grief and demands for justice.
The postmortem report states the cause of death as massive haemoperitoneum, meaning a large quantity of blood had accumulated in the abdominal cavity following internal injuries caused by the projectile, and penetrating firearms injury to the abdomen. The examination found bony fragments embedded in the soft tissue of the abdomen, consistent with a penetrating firearm injury. It also revealed a fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebra. The pathologist recorded the trajectory of the projectile as posterior-to-anterior, right-to-left and infero-superior. In plain language, the bullet entered from the back, travelled towards the front, moved from the right side of his body to the left and went upwards. The pathologist further noted that the injuries inside the abdomen were consistent with a firearm injury involving ricochet of the missile. The report also recorded the absence of any obvious signs of significant natural disease, with no scars, tattoos, or other distinguishing marks.
The findings were contained in a report submitted to the Coroner's Court investigating the circumstances surrounding Onifade's death. The inquest was convened by the Lagos State Government following an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos, secured after Media Rights Agenda filed a suit against the state government and the Nigeria Police Force. In a judgment delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take the necessary steps to investigate Onifade's death and conduct a coroner's inquest to establish the cause of death and identify and prosecute those responsible. The Lagos State Government subsequently convened the coroner's proceedings in compliance with the court's directive. Further proceedings in the coroner's inquest have been adjourned to October 6, 2026.
Onifade was 20 years old when he died. He was a journalist doing his job, covering a protest, wearing a jacket that told the world he was press. He was shot from behind. He was arrested. He was taken away. He was found in a mortuary. It took six years and a court order for the authorities to conduct an autopsy that should have been done immediately. The report now sits before the coroner. The question is whether it will lead to accountability or whether it will become another document in a file that gathers dust while the people responsible move on with their lives. Media Rights Agenda and Onifade's family have fought for this moment. The autopsy confirms the cause of death. What it cannot confirm is whether anyone will be made to answer for it. The inquest resumes on October 6, 2026.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments