A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday ordered the Lagos State government to investigate the death of a 20-year-old reporter, Pelumi Onifade. The journalist with Gboah TV, an online television channel, was arrested by officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force while covering the #EndSARS protests in October 2020 and later found dead at a mortuary in the Ikorodu area of the state, where his body was deposited.
The court also ordered the state government to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of the death of Onifade as well as identify and prosecute those responsible. 
Delivering judgment in a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) over the death of the journalist against the Police and the Lagos State Government, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji agreed that the government’s chief law officer cannot conduct an inquest without a duplicate of the case file.
He ruled that Section 74 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos State gives the Attorney-General the power to request a case file from the Commissioner of Police.
Although the court dismissed five of the claims made by MRA against the police on the ground that there was no evidence before the court to support them, Justice Faji noted that none of the facts in MRA’s affidavit was denied by the Attorney-General, who only raised an issue of law, adding that in the course of oral arguments, the Attorney-General’s counsel also undertook to conduct an inquest.
Lagos-based lawyer Charles Musa filed an originating summons on August 4, 2021, on behalf of MRA, against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (COP), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney-General of Lagos State.
It was filed pursuant to Sections 6(6) and 46(1) as well as 33, 35 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution; Articles 4, 5 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, 2004; and Order II Rules 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009.
The organisation asked the court to declare that Onifade’s shooting in Oko Oba in Agege Local Council by agents of the COP and the IGP on October 24, 2020, in the course of his journalistic duty 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.
They also contended that Onifade’s arrest and unlawful restriction of his liberty by agents of the COP and the IGP on October 24, 2020, are 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 and 9 of the African Charter.
In the suit, the group claimed 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 and that the COP and the IGP should investigate crimes committed against Onifade, 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.
In his judgment, Justice Faji pointed out that although the COP 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 Onifade’s corpse was deposited in a mortuary.
Justice Faji also observed that although there was a 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.
The judge also 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, however, 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 about what the Attorney-General had done about the matter since being served with the court processes, the lawyer submitted that the Attorney-General was ready to conduct an inquest.
Justice Faji stressed that the Attorney-General is not alleged to have known about the alleged unlawful killing of Onifade and not accused of being involved in the killing but that, as stated by MRA, he has to conduct an inquest into the circumstances of the death.
He said: “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.”
Justice Faji, therefore, directed the Attorney-General to take all necessary steps to see to the investigation of the circumstances of the death of Onifade and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of the death as well as identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.
