The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) says the body of Pelumi Onifade, a reporter with Gboah TV, could not be identified because all DNA samples held at the state’s DNA and Forensic Centre were destroyed during the #EndSARS protest of October 2020.
Temitope Oladele, the coroner, on Tuesday, said LASUTH had complied with her order and submitted a report on the whereabouts of Onifade’s body.
BACKGROUND
On October 24, 2020, Onifade was reportedly taken away by police officers attached to the Lagos task force, while covering a mob attack at a government facility in the Agege area of Lagos.
He was said to have been forcefully taken away despite wearing a jacket identifying him as a reporter.
Days later, Gboah TV announced that the body of Onifade was discovered at a mortuary in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
On July 19, 2024, the federal high court in Lagos ordered the state government to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of Onifade’s death as well as identify and prosecute those responsible.
In October 2024, the coroner commenced hearing.
On November 18, 2025, the coroner ordered LASUTH to perform a post-mortem examination of the unidentified body tagged 1385, which was received from Ikorodu hospital.
On March 3, Alimi Adamu, lead counsel to Media Rights Agenda (MRA), told the coroner that the protracted strike at LASUTH, which had stalled progress in the case since the earlier order was made, had been called off.
Adamu applied for a fresh order to be directed specifically to the chief medical director of LASUTH.
Oladele granted the application and ordered the chief medical director “to give a report of the body with the tag number 1385 said to have been received on behalf of LASUTH on 3rd November 2020 from Ikorodu General Hospital, within fourteen days of receipt of this order”.
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She thereafter adjourned proceedings to March 24, 2026.
During the proceedings on March 24, the coroner refused to grant the application for committal proceedings to be initiated against LASUTH’s chief medical director for the continued disobedience of the court’s order.
The coroner said she would give the hospital the final opportunity to comply with the order.
The case was adjourned to April 7.
TUESDAY’S PROCEEDINGS
A statement by Idowu Adewale, MRA communication officer, said the report submitted to the corner by LASUTH stated that all the DNA samples held by the DNA Centre were destroyed as a result of the burning of the centre during the #EndSARS protests.
Responding to the content of the report during proceedings on Tuesday, Adamu said there is a fundamental inconsistency in the report submitted by LASUTH.
The MRA lead counsel said official records show that the DNA centre was burnt on October 23, 2020, before the death of Onifade on October 24, 2020 and that the DNA samples collected from his parents could not have been among those destroyed.
He said DNA samples from members of Onifade’s family were collected several days after the death of the journalist, adding that their DNA samples could not have been destroyed.
Adamu told the coroner that attribution of the destruction of the DNA samples to the incident of October 23, 2020 is “manifestly inconsistent and cannot be reconciled with the established sequence of events”.
Responding to the arguments, the coroner said although the issue of DNA samples is material, the immediate concern of the court is the identification, location, and production of the body.
Oladele said the body is the central to the inquest proceedings.
She added based on the information before the court, the body has been transferred from LASUTH to another facility, reportedly in the Yaba area of Lagos.
She said the issue of DNA analysis can be revisited once there is clarity on the custody of the body.
Afterwards, Adamu told the court that efforts to locate the body should be done alongside the steps for DNA analysis.
The coroner agreed with the suggestion, adding that there is a need to get direct clarification from all relevant institutions following the inconsistencies in the report provided by LASUTH.
Adamu therefore applied to the court to direct the CMD of the facility in Yaba to produce a comprehensive report concerning the body tagged 1385, which it reportedly received from LASUTH.
The coroner granted the order and ruled that the CMD of the Yaba facility should produce a detailed report on the whereabouts and status of the body within 14 days of service of the order.
She thereafter adjourned the matter to April 28, 2026.
TheCable
