A Lagos High Court, on Tuesday, ordered the Lagos State Government to investigate the death of a journalist, Pelumi Onifade, who was killed during the #EndSARS protests in 2020.
The 20-year reporter with Gboah TV, an online television channel, was reportedly arrested by officers attached to a Lagos State Task Force while covering the #EndSARS protests in 2020.
The reporter was reportedly found dead at a mortuary in Ikorodu in Lagos, where his body was deposited, in the aftermath of the nationwide protest against police brutality which led to the disbandment of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
In November 2020, the management of Gboah TV confirmed the death of Onifade, who was earlier declared missing on October 24, 2020.
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According to a Tuesday statement by the Communications Officer, Media Rights Agenda, Idowu Adewale, the court also ordered the state government to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of the death of Onifade as well as identify and prosecute those responsible.
Delivering judgment in a suit filed by MRA over the death of the journalist against the police and the Lagos State Government, Justice Ayokunle Faji agreed that the government’s chief law officer “cannot just conduct an inquest without a duplicate of the case file” but he ruled that Section 74 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State gives the Attorney General the power to request for a case file from the Commissioner of Police.
In his judgment, Justice Faji stressed that the Attorney General was not alleged to have known about the alleged unlawful killing of Onifade and was also not accused of being involved in the killing but that as stated by MRA, he has a duty to conduct an inquest into the circumstances of the death.
He said: “Indeed, in paragraph 15 of the counter affidavit, the 3rd respondent (the Attorney General) has stated that he would prosecute anyone found to have a prima facie case established against him.”
Justice Faji therefore directed the Attorney General to take all necessary steps to see to the investigation of the circumstances of the death of Onifade and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of the death as well as identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.
The court’s decision marks a crucial step towards accountability and justice for the young reporter, whose untimely demise sparked widespread outrage and underscored the dangers faced by journalists in the line of duty.
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