A Lagos State District Coroner, Mrs. Temitope Oladele, has directed the Medical Director of Ikorodu General Hospital to release records relating to the deposit, release, or current status of the remains of Mr Pelumi Onifade, a journalist who reportedly died in police custody during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
The order, issued over the weekend, follows an application by Media Rights Agenda’s (MRA) counsel, Monday Arunsi, who led Ms. Jennifer Wala of the law firm of Charles Musa & Co. in representing the late journalist’s family.
Arunsi told the court that the hospital had previously refused to provide the records, citing medical confidentiality.
In a statement made available to journalists, Onifade, a reporter with Gboah TV, was allegedly arrested by policemen attached to the Lagos State Taskforce while covering the protests and was later found dead at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary.
The ongoing coroner’s inquest was said to have been ordered by the Federal High Court in Lagos after MRA filed a wrongful death suit against the Nigeria Police Force and the Lagos State Government, seeking a full investigation into the circumstances of his death.
In a July 19, 2024 judgment, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji was observed to have instructed the Attorney-General to ensure a coroner’s inquest was conducted to determine the cause of death and identify those responsible.
During Friday’s proceedings, Arunsi, according to the statement, told the court that he and a colleague visited the hospital on July 31, 2025, in compliance with a prior court directive to obtain the records.
However, the Medical Director refused, stating that only a court order could compel disclosure.
Granting the application, the Coroner was also said to have ordered that the Medical Director, or any person in charge of the records, must provide the requested information within seven days of receiving the order. The matter was adjourned to August 19, 2025, for mention.
