By Damilola Abiola
A Lagos Coroner’s Court has ordered key witnesses to begin testifying in the inquest into the death of journalist Pelumi Onifade, who was reportedly shot while covering Nigeria’s 2020 #EndSARS protests, even as it awaits a delayed autopsy report expected later this month.
At a hearing on July 7, the investigating magistrate, Temitope Oladele, said the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) had informed the court that the autopsy report was substantially complete but was awaiting the endorsement of the medical examiner, who is currently away and expected to return within about two weeks.
Oladele ruled that proceedings should not be stalled by the delay and directed that testimony from material witnesses begin immediately to ensure the inquest continued to make progress.
The decision followed submissions by Alimi Adamu, counsel representing Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and Onifade’s parents, who argued that although the autopsy report remained the key outstanding document needed to establish the exact cause of death, witness evidence could be heard while it was being finalised.
The court had earlier accepted DNA evidence confirming the identity of Onifade during proceedings on June 23.
The coroner ordered that the first witnesses should include people who interacted with Onifade shortly before his death, particularly a colleague who was reportedly with him immediately before the shooting. Adamu told the court that the colleague had relocated outside Lagos State but said efforts would be made to contact him.
Oladele said the witness remained critical to the investigation and ruled that he could testify virtually if attending in person proved impractical or raised security concerns.
The court also directed that police officers linked to the case, including those who recovered Onifade’s body and prepared official records, be summoned to testify.
Adamu pointed to a police report submitted through Ikorodu General Hospital, already before the court, which stated that the journalist sustained a gunshot wound before his body was removed from the scene.
Following a review of the documents, the court identified ASP Adeyemi Adewale and Inspector A. Augustine as officers connected with the case and ordered that they, along with any officer responsible for subsequent investigations, appear before the inquest.
The coroner said the proceedings should establish who led the police operation, who discharged the firearm, the circumstances surrounding the shooting and whether any internal police investigation followed.
The court also directed Adamu to provide details of the director of Gboah TV, who was said to have arrived shortly after the shooting and interacted with security personnel, so that he could also testify.
During the hearing, lawyers also clarified that the inquest is inquisitorial rather than adversarial, with its primary purpose being to determine the cause and circumstances of Onifade’s death rather than assign criminal or civil liability.
The coroner said findings from the proceedings could later inform separate legal actions but that the immediate objective was to establish the facts surrounding the journalist’s death.
The case was adjourned until July 29 to allow the medical examiner to complete and endorse the autopsy report and for the identified witnesses to be secured for testimony.