A postmortem examination has confirmed that 20-year-old Pelumi Onifade, a journalist with Gboah TV, died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen while covering the #EndSARS protest in Lagos in October 2020.
The injury caused massive internal bleeding, according to the postmortem report issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
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Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which has spearheaded the advocacy for accountability over the killing alongside the deceased’s family, disclosed the findings in a statement on Thursday by its Communications Officer, Idowu Adewale.
MRA and Mr Onifade’s family are parties to the ongoing Lagos State coroner’s inquest into the death. The not-for-profit organisation was a plaintiff in the suit that gave rise to the judgment ordering the constitution of the coroner court to conduct an inquest into the killing.
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The nine-page post-moterm report gave the cause of death as “massive haemoperitoneum” and “penetrating firearms injury to the abdomen”.
MRA’s statement stated that Mr Onifade was shot and arrested while covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos on 24 October 2020.
The postmortem examination was carried out at the LASUTH morgue on 4 November 2020, while the report was finalised and signed on 30 July this year.
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A consultant pathologist, Sunday Soyemi, conducted the examination, with another consultant, John Obafunwa, in attendance as supervising consultant. The examination was authorised by the coroner, Bola Folarin-Williams.
What the postmortem found
The report said the projectile caused extensive injuries to Mr Onifade’s abdomen and resulted in massive internal bleeding.
It also found “bony spicules embedded in the soft tissue of the abdomen” and a fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebra.
The pathologist said the findings were consistent with a penetrating firearm injury.
The report described the path of the projectile as “posterior-to-anterior, right-to-left and infero-superior”. In simple terms, it entered through the back, travelled towards the front, moved from the right side towards the left and went upwards.
The injuries were also said to be consistent with a firearm injury involving a ricochet of the projectile.
The body, tagged No. 1385 at the morgue, was identified as Mr Onifade’s through DNA analysis by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre.
MRA noted that the identification was confirmed during the coroner’s proceedings in June 2026, after a DNA sample from Mr Onifade’s family matched the unidentified body recovered from a morgue years earlier.
Inquest into his death
MRA explained that the postmortem report has been submitted to the coroner’s court investigating Mr Onifade’s death.
The inquest followed a judgement of the Federal High Court in Lagos directing the Lagos State Government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death and conduct a coroner’s inquest.
In a judgement on 19 July 2024, the judge Ayokunle Faji, directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take steps to investigate Mr Onifade’s death, determine its cause and identify and prosecute those responsible.
The judgement followed a suit filed by MRA against the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force.
PREMIUM TIMES reported in September 2024 that MRA had urged the state government to comply with the court order.
The coroner’s inquest later commenced to examine the circumstances surrounding Mr Onifade’s death.
The proceedings have been adjourned until 6 October, according to MRA.
#EndSARS protest
The EndSARS protest, which Mr Onifade was covering when he was killed in Lagos, was a nationwide demonstration by mostly the youths against the brutality and heavy-handed tactics of the Nigerian police, particularly their tactical unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), whose operatives were notorious for inhuman treatment and extortion of citizens.
The demonstrations erupted in October 2020 following the shooting of Daniel Chibuike in Delta State by police officers. The police later claimed the victim survived and alleged that protesters had killed a police officer.
Days after the protest started, the then-President Muhammadu Buhari administration disbanded SARS and promised broad police reforms.
READ ALSO: Kwara journalist raises alarm over alleged threat to kill him, family
The then Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, also introduced the Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT) as its replacement. This move was immediately rejected by Nigerians, who demanded thorough medical and psychological evaluations for former SARS members before they could join SWAT.
The hashtag #EndSARS quickly gained global traction, with the Nigerian diaspora joining in to demand an end to police brutality and a comprehensive reform of the security system.
The Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos turned out to be the epicentre of the protest. Soldiers deployed to quell the protest there shot at peaceful protesters in the evening of 20 October 2020.
Police used teargas and similarly fired gunshots to disperse demonstrators in different parts of the country.
Security agencies, particularly the police, detained some protesters for months.
Mr Onifade is believed to have been killed by the brutal response of security forces aimed at quelling the protest.
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