A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the Lagos State Government to investigate the death of Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old reporter who was arrested by police during the 2020 #EndSARS protests and later found dead at a mortuary in Ikorodu.
Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji ruled that the State Government must conduct a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause of Onifade’s death and identify those responsible.
Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Charles Musa, who was selected for conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed an originating summons on August 4, 2021, on behalf of MRA, against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (COP), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General of Lagos State.
The court also ordered the Attorney-General to take necessary steps to investigate the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.
The ruling came in a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) over Onifade’s death. Although the court dismissed some of the claims against the police due to lack of evidence, it noted that the Attorney-General has a duty to conduct an inquest into the circumstances of the death.
The constitutional and statutory duties of the respondents do not extend to unlawful detention of innocent individuals who have not been charged to Court or found guilty of any offence by a competent court of law in Nigeria; and
The COP and the IGP have an obligation to investigate crimes committed against Mr. Onifade, a journalist exercising his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Sections 33 and 39 of the Constitution and Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charter.
MRA also asked the court to issue three orders, directing the respondents to launch a transparent, impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mr. Onifade whose body was found in a morgue in Lagos; directing them to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of his death; and directing them to identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.
In his judgment, Justice Faji pointed out that although the COP and the IGP were served with the originating summons and other processes in the suit, they did not file any response.
He noted that Mr. John Gbadamosi, MRA’s Programme Officer who deposed to the affidavit in support of suit, did not witness any of the facts relevant to the matter, adding that there was also no documentation in support of the claim that Mr. Onifade’s corpse was deposited in a mortuary.
Justice Faji also observed that although there was constant reference in the affidavit to the family of the deceased who, he said, would have the necessary information regarding their various interactions with the Police, none of them filed any evidence in support of the incident. He therefore dismissed the claims against the Police for lack of evidence.
Although the judge commended the Office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State for upholding the duties of the office by attending court and assisting the court in the matter, he noted that the explanation by the Attorney-General’s lawyer that the reason a coroner’s inquest was not conducted was because the duplicate of the case file was not forwarded to his office.
According to him, in response to the court’s question on what the Attorney-General did about the matter since being served with the court processes, the lawyer submitted that the Attorney-General is ready to conduct an inquest.
Justice Faji stressed that the Attorney-General is not alleged to have known about the alleged unlawful killing of Mr. Onifade and is 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 Mr. 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.
Onifade was arrested on October 24, 2020, while covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos.
His body was later found at a mortuary in Ikorodu, sparking concerns about police brutality and the safety of journalists in Nigeria.
