Pelumi Onifade: Media Rights Body Urges Lagos Gov’t to Comply with Court Order to Investigate Journalist’s Death During #EndSARS
Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has called on the Lagos State Government to comply with a Federal High Court order to investigate the death of Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old reporter who died in 2020 while covering the #EndSARS protests.
The court also directed the government to identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.
In a letter to the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, MRA’s lawyer, Kingsley Kenechukwu, urged the government to comply with the court’s directives to ensure justice is served.
The court’s order was made on July 19, 2024, by Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji, who directed the Attorney-General to take necessary steps to investigate the circumstances of Onifade’s death and conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of death.
MRA filed a suit against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of Lagos State, alleging that Onifade’s shooting by policemen on October 24, 2020, was unconstitutional and a gross violation of his fundamental rights.
Although the court found no evidence to support MRA’s claim that Onifade died in police custody, it granted the organization’s request to order an investigation into his death.
The court’s decision is a significant step towards ensuring accountability for the death of the young reporter. MRA’s call on the Lagos State Government to comply with the court’s order is a reminder that justice must be served, and those responsible for Onifade’s death must be held accountable.
The government’s response to this call will be closely watched by media rights advocates and the general public.
However, The Street Reporters Newspaper recalls that Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos had ordered the Lagos state government to investigate the death of 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade, who was found in a mortuary after being arrested by police during the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
In August 2021, Lagos-based lawyer Charles Musa, on behalf of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), filed an originating motion against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (COP), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Attorney General of Lagos State over the death of Mr Onifade.
Justice Faji had also directed the state’s Attorney General to carry out the necessary investigations to uncover the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.
According to MRA, Mr Onifade was shot in Oko Oba, Agege Local Government Area of Lagos, in October 2020 by officers under the command of the COP and IGP while covering the #EndSARS protests.
MRA had approached the court to declare that Mr Onifade’s 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, were unconstitutionally and grossly violated.
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