Pelumi Onifade

2020

Agege, Lagos

On October 24, 2020, Pelumi Onifade, a journalist intern at Gboah TV, was one of those assigned to cover the unrest at Oko-Oba area of Agege, Lagos. Police officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force arrived at the scene and started shooting live rounds to disperse the crowd. Pelumi was hit. 

Although still alive, according to his colleague, who went to the officers to identify Pelumi as a journalist and pointed out that he was putting on a press jacket, Pelumi was carried away in the Task Force van. After six days of searching, his family found his body at the mortuary of Lagos State General Hospital in Ikorodu.

On Saturday, June 5, at the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters, Pelumi’s father and family lawyer were present, waiting for his case to be heard. Although hopeful that justice will be served, Mr Onifade had little expectation that the case would not be postponed, yet again, to a later date. Prior to that day, the lead counsel to the Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) had said that there was an objection regarding hearing the case. “I have no doubt that the panel will listen to us,” said Lekan Egberongbe, Pelumi’s family lawyer.