Coroner Gives LASUTH and DNA Centre 21 Days to Submit Reports on Body Linked to Pelumi Onifade

Wale Igbintade

A Coroner’s Court in Lagos has ordered the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre to submit essential reports that could help establish the identity and cause of death of a body believed to belong to journalist Pelumi Onifade, who vanished while covering the #EndSARS protests in October 2020.

The orders were issued by the investigating magistrate, Mrs. Temitope Oladele, during a resumed hearing of the inquest into Onifade’s death. Onifade, a Gboah TV reporter, was reportedly detained by officers of a Lagos State Task Force while reporting on the protests. Her body was later discovered at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary.

Details of the proceedings were released in a statement issued yesterday by Mr. Idowu Adewale, Communications Officer of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the organization that initiated the legal action leading to the current inquest.

Mrs. Oladele directed the Chief Medical Examiner of LASUTH to provide the court, within 21 days, with the autopsy report of an unidentified body marked No. 1385, which is believed to be that of the late journalist.

The Coroner also ordered the Director of the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre to submit, within the same period, the DNA test results for the body after samples taken from the corpse and reference samples from Onifade’s parents were forwarded to the centre for analysis.

The inquest was convened following the Federal High Court’s orders in Lagos after MRA filed a wrongful‑death suit against the Nigeria Police Force and the Lagos State Government. The suit sought, among other reliefs, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Onifade’s death and the prosecution of those responsible.

In a judgment delivered on 19 July 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney General to ensure an investigation into the journalist’s death and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause of death and identify and prosecute those responsible.

During the resumed hearing, counsel for Onifade’s family and MRA, Mr. Alimi Adamu, urged the Coroner to compel LASUTH to produce the autopsy report on the body and to direct the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre to submit the DNA analysis conducted on samples taken from the body.

Adamu recalled that at a prior sitting, the court had ordered the Chief Medical Director of Yaba General Hospital to provide a detailed report on the whereabouts and status of the body within 14 days.

According to him, a review of the court’s order and the report subsequently submitted by LASUTH revealed that the body was not being held at Yaba General Hospital as previously believed. Instead, the report stated that the body bearing Tag No. 1385 had been transferred to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) mortuary in Yaba for storage.

The lawyer argued that LASUTH’s report confirmed an autopsy had already been performed on the body and that DNA samples collected during the procedure were forwarded to the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre for identification and analysis.

He added that the report further indicated that LASUTH authorities were awaiting the outcome of the DNA examination, making it necessary for the court to obtain both the autopsy report and DNA results to assist the inquest.

The Coroner initially expressed concerns about the operational status of the DNA and Forensic Centre, citing reports that the facility had been damaged during the #EndSARS protests.

However, Adamu informed the court that the centre remained operational and was currently functioning from its office at 48 Broad Street, Lagos.

In her ruling, Mrs. Oladele referred to a report issued by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of LASUTH on 24 March 2026, which stated that autopsies were conducted on six bodies brought to the hospital on 3 November 2020, including the body tagged No. 1385.

Based on the report, she ordered the Chief Medical Examiner of the department to forward the autopsy report relating to the body to the court within 21 days.

The Coroner further noted that LASUTH’s report confirmed that DNA samples were collected from the bodies and that both the samples and reference samples obtained from families who lost loved ones during the #EndSARS protests were forwarded to the DNA and Forensic Centre for identification.

Consequently, she directed the Director of the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre to submit the DNA test result relating to body Tag No. 1385 within 21 days.

The matter was adjourned to 23 June 2026 for continuation of proceedings.

The outcome of the autopsy and DNA reports is expected to play a significant role in determining whether the unidentified body is that of Onifade and in shedding further light on the circumstances surrounding the death of the young journalist during the #EndSARS protests.