THE Lagos State Government has commenced a judicial inquiry into the death of Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old journalist who died during the #EndSARS protests in October 2020.

The inquest, which began on October 17, 2024, aims to uncover the circumstances surrounding Onifade’s death, assign responsibility if necessary, and provide closure to his family, according to a statement by the Media Rights Agenda, on Friday, October 18.

Onifade, a reporter for Gboah TV, was reportedly arrested by policemen attached to a Lagos State taskforce while covering the #EndSARS protests in 2020. His body was later discovered at a mortuary in Ikorodu, Lagos, under mysterious circumstances.

His death, and many others during the protest, sparked outrage and demands for justice from Nigerians and civil society groups.

The ICIR reports that ENDSARS protests targeted scrapping the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), but ended up making more citizens victims of the police and other security officers’ brutality as many Nigerians were killed during the protest.

Although the Nigerian government denied the killings of protesters, findings of the Lagos State Judicial Panel on #EndSARS indicted the Nigerian Army of the protesters’ massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate.

Following a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the Nigerian Police Force and the Lagos State Government over the killing of the young journalist, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause of death and identify those responsible.

The presiding judge, Ayokunle Olayinka Faji, in his July 19, 2024 ruling, directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to initiate a full investigation into Onifade’s death.

At the inquest’s preliminary hearing on October 17, 2024, the District Coroner T.R.A. Oladele, presiding over the case, emphasised the inquest’s goal to ascertain whether Onifade’s death could have been prevented, identify its cause, and determine any negligence or culpability.

Both the representatives of MRA and the Lagos State Attorney-General’s office were present, according to the statement.

The hearing also featured testimony from Bose Onifade, the late journalist’s mother, who recounted the family’s struggle to locate and retrieve her son’s body.

She described how the family initially learned that Onifade’s body had been taken to the Ikorodu mortuary, where her husband, along with church members, identified it but the mortuary attendants refused to release the body.

“According to Mrs. Onifade, they were later told that the body had been moved to Yaba mortuary, but on getting there, they were not given any clear information about its whereabouts. She said the confusion and lack of clarity has exacerbated the family’s distress,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, representing the attorney-general of the state, Oluwaseun Akinde asked that the task force and other relevant authorities be contacted to provide documentation to track the body’s transfer between facilities.

In the statement, the coroner agreed and further directed that official records of the body’s movements be obtained.

He also suggested DNA testing to identify the remains, given the discrepancies in the available records.

The deceased mother, however, revealed that DNA samples had already been collected from her at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the DNA Test Centre in CMS, Lagos, but that she had not received any feedback from either institution.

“The coroner directed that a comprehensive list of all relevant parties to be included in the inquest proceedings should be compiled and that the list should include not only the taskforce members but also any additional witnesses or officials with knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the death.

She said the objective was to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation by incorporating all pertinent testimonies and evidence,” the statement said.

Akinde was also directed to send a formal request to the appropriate agencies, to provide clarification on the status of Onifade’s body and ask for all relevant records.

On July 10, 2024, The ICIR reported that the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ruled that the Nigerian government breached the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in its handling of the 2000 ENDSARS protests.

The court fined the country N2 million, to be paid to three victims whose rights were violated by soldiers and other security operatives at the Lekki Toll Gate, where the largest number of protesters converged.

According to the court, the fine was compensation for the violations of the security of person, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, the duty to investigate human rights violations, and right to an effective remedy for the complainants.

However, the Nigerian government while defending the case, denied all claims by the applicants, stating that the officers who allegedly shot protesters were searching for escapee Boko Haram members.

Besides, it alleged that the protesters unlawfully assembled at Lekki Toll Gate under the guise of protesting against SARS.