The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) welcomes the decision by the Lagos State government to investigate the death of Pelumi Emmanuel Onifade, a reporter who died a week after he was hit by a bullet and arrested by security officers while covering the #EndSARS protests in 2020.
We also salute the sustained pressure mounted by the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and other media rights organisations in Nigeria and beyond to seek justice for the deceased reporter.
The Lagos State Government’s decision followed an order by a Federal High Court in Lagos for the death of the 20-year old reporter with Gboah TV, an online television channel, to be probed. In his judgement, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney-General to take all necessary steps to see to the investigation and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of the death. The Court also ordered the State Government not only to establish the cause of Onifade’s death but also identify and prosecute those responsible.
Pelumi was covering the #EndSARS protests in 2020, when he was hit by a bullet and carried away by the police only to be found dead at a mortuary in Ikorodu in Lagos on October 30, 2020.
The court’s decision followed a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) on August 4, 2021, against the Police and the Lagos State Government over the impunity surrounding the journalist’s death. The suit was filed pursuant to Sections 6(6) and 46(1) as well as 33, 35 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution among other relevant international instruments.
MRA had argued that “Mr. Onifade’s arrest and unlawful restriction of his liberty by agents of the COP and the IGP on October 24, 2020 in the course of his journalistic work is unconstitutional and a gross violation of his fundamental rights as guaranteed by sections 35, 39 and 46(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Articles 5 and9 of the African Charter”.
It also averred that “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.”
Following the judgment, the MRA, through its lawyers, wrote a letter dated August 22, 2024 and addressed to the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, urging the Government to “comply with the directives of the honorable court so that justice would be seen to be done and hope given to the common man that there is still justice in the judicial system.”
In a response letter dated September 2, 2024, the Lagos State government assured that it was instructing the State Chief Coroner to initiate investigations into the death of Onifade, in compliance with the court order.
This development is a major breakthrough in the advocacy for justice for the deceased journalist and his family.
On the 1000th day milestone of his death, the MFWA announced a 30-day media campaign, in collaboration with other partners, to press home demand for justice for Pelumi and his loved ones.
On February 28, 2024, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) submitted a joint petition to the authorities in Nigeria demanding redress for the killing of Pelumi Emmanuel Onifade. The petition was individually delivered to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Commissioner General of Police, and the Office of the Attorney General.
On September 3, 2024, the MFWA, CPJ and IPI renewed their call on the Nigerian authorities to ensure the body of slain journalist Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi is released to his family and that those responsible for his death are identified and held to account.
