Coroner confirms identity years after protests
A coroner in Lagos has confirmed that a body seen at a city mortuary belongs to Pelumi Onifade, an intern journalist who disappeared during Nigeria’s 2020 EndSars demonstrations. The confirmation, delivered on 24 June 2026, matched the remains tagged 1385 to a DNA sample provided by his mother, according to reporting by the Guardian. Yet, despite that forensic breakthrough, the family has still not been able to reclaim the body for burial.
Onifade, 20 at the time, had been covering a protest in Abule Egba, Lagos, for Gboah TV on 24 October 2020 when, witnesses said, he was struck by a bullet before members of a Lagos police taskforce took him away in a vehicle alongside detained protesters. Days later, on 30 October, a relative traced him to a morgue in Ikorodu, about 23 miles (37km) from Lagos. When the family arrived, the body was no longer there, setting in motion a prolonged effort to secure answers and the right to a burial.
‘Give us his body’
For Onifade’s mother, the intervening years have been defined by hearings, paperwork and waiting. The family has attended judicial panels convened to examine abuses during the protests, supplied DNA, and pursued proceedings through the courts. An internal review was stated to be under way by Lagos State authorities in 2024, the Guardian reported. The case has been adjourned twice since the coroner’s identification and is now listed for 29 July.
“We want them to release his body. If they have already killed him; they should give his body to us to bury.”
Her plea encapsulates a central grievance from families affected by the events of 2020: that closure requires the return of remains and a clear official account of what occurred. In Onifade’s case, the coroner’s confirmation addresses a critical evidential step, but not the practical hurdles that still block repatriation and burial.
Timeline at a glance
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 24 Oct 2020 | Intern reporter disappears during EndSars coverage in Abule Egba, Lagos. |
| 30 Oct 2020 | Relative locates a body in Ikorodu morgue; it is missing when family arrives. |
| 2024 | Lagos State says an internal investigation is ongoing, per CPJ correspondence. |
| 24 Jun 2026 | Coroner confirms identity of body tagged 1385 via maternal DNA. |
| 29 Jul 2026 | Next scheduled hearing after two adjournments. |
Why this matters in Bury
While the case is unfolding in Nigeria, its implications reach far beyond. For readers in Bury, the story raises concerns about press freedom, the treatment of journalists covering public unrest, and the capacity of institutions to deliver due process after allegations of state violence. It also speaks to the experience of families—wherever they live—seeking a lawful pathway to recover loved ones’ remains following conflict or unrest. The coroner’s ruling is a significant procedural milestone, but the continuing inability to take custody of the body underscores the gap that can exist between forensic truth and practical justice.
The Guardian’s account notes prior engagement with Nigeria’s panels of inquiry into police conduct and the role of oversight bodies. Those mechanisms exist to provide accountability and, ultimately, to help families secure closure. The prolonged nature of this case highlights the limits of such processes when administrative, legal or custodial barriers persist even after scientific identification. For communities in Bury that follow global human rights developments, the case is a reminder of the long tail of major protest movements and the responsibilities borne by public authorities when citizens—or those reporting on them—are harmed.
Broader accountability questions
The EndSars protests mobilised thousands across Nigeria in October 2020, initially targeting the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and evolving into a wider reckoning with police practice and state response. In the years since, multiple strands of inquiry have attempted to address individual cases arising from that period. Here, the confirmation of identity by the coroner adds weight to the family’s call for the most basic of rights—the ability to perform a burial—and raises the question of how quickly court and administrative decisions can be translated into action.
- Identification achieved: DNA has linked the morgue record to the missing reporter.
- Process outstanding: Court dates have slipped, and release of the body has not yet occurred.
- Public interest: The case reflects on press safety and due process following civic unrest.
For Bury readers, the particulars of one young journalist’s fate are a window onto the global challenges of protecting reporters in the field and ensuring that institutions respond transparently when things go wrong. Whatever the outcome at the next hearing, the family’s persistence—and the evidential clarity provided by DNA—places renewed pressure on authorities to resolve a case that has already lasted nearly six years.
