Court orders Lagos govt to investigate journalist’s death, prosecute killers

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 #EndSARS protests in 2020 and later found dead at a mortuary in Ikorodu.

Ayokunle Faji, a justice of the Federal High Court, in a ruling, ordered the state government to conduct a coroner’s inquest to determine the cause of Mr Onifade’s death, identify those responsible and prosecute them.

A statement by the Communications Officer Media Rights Agenda, Idowu Adewale, said the court also ordered the Attorney General to take necessary steps to investigate the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Charles Musa had filed an originating summons on 4 August 2021, on behalf of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (COP), the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of Lagos State.

In the suit, the court dismissed some of the claims against the police due to lack of evidence but noted that the Attorney General has to conduct an inquest into the circumstances of the death.

The MRA, among other demands, approached the court to declare that the late Onifade’s shooting in Oko Oba in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State by agents of the COP and the IGP on 24 October 2020 in the course of his work is unconstitutional and a gross violation of his fundamental rights as guaranteed by section 33 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

It implored the court to declare that the late Onifade’s arrest and unlawful or restriction of his liberty by agents of the COP and the IGP on the same date in the course of his 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 sought the court’s declaration that 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.

It asked the court to establish that the police commissioner 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.

The 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, Mr Faji pointed out that although the police commissioner and the IGP were served with the originating summons and other processes in the suit, they did not file any response.

He noted that MRA’s Programme Officer, John Gbadamosi, who deposed to the affidavit in support of the 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.

Mr Faji 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 was ready to conduct an inquest.

Mr Faji stressed that the Attorney-General is not alleged to have known about the alleged unlawful killing of the late 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.

“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,” he said.

READ ALSO: Lagos court extends protest restriction order

The late Onifade was a second-year student of the Department of History at the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, and a reporter with Gboah TV, an online television channel, at the time.

He was covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos before officers of the Lagos State Taskforce arrested him on 24 October 2020.

His body was later found at a mortuary in Ikorodu, sparking concerns about police brutality and the safety of journalists in Nigeria.