Postmortem Report Confirms Journalist Pelumi Onifade Died from Gunshot to Abdomen

Mr Pelumi Onifade, a young journalist with Gboah TV, who was reportedly shot and arrested while covering the #EndSARS protests on October 24, 2020, died from fatal injuries as a result of a “firearm projectile” that entered his body through his lower back, causing extensive damage to his abdomen and massive internal bleeding, according to a postmortem report issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

The report of the postmortem examination, conducted at the LASUTH morgue on November 4, 2020, stated that the autopsy was carried out by Consultant Pathologist, Professor Sunday Sokunle Soyemi, with Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa, Supervising Consultant, in attendance, with the authorization of the Coroner, Mrs. Bola Folarin-Williams. The report was finalized and signed on July 30, 2026.

The autopsy report was submitted to the Coroner Court, which was convened by the Lagos State Government on the orders of a Federal High Court in Lagos to investigate the death of Mr. Onifade, following a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the State Government and the Nigeria Police Force, demanding, among other things, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the late journalist.

In his judgment in that suit, delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take all necessary steps to ensure an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Onifade’s death and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of death, as well as identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.

The nine-page postmortem report stated the “Cause of Death” to be “Massive haemoperitoneum” and “Penetrating firearms injury to the abdomen”, and identified the body, which was tagged No 1385, as that of Pelumi Onifade, based on DNA analysis provided by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre.

The “massive haemoperitoneum” indicates that a very large quantity of blood, sufficient to cause severe blood loss and result in death, was found inside the abdominal cavity as a result of the injuries caused inside the stomach, which the pathologist said are “consistent with a firearm injury to the abdomen with the ricochet of the missile.”

According to the report, the postmortem revealed significant internal injuries, including “bony spicules embedded in the soft tissue of the abdomen” consistent with a penetrating firearm injury, and “fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebrae”, while the trajectory of the missile that penetrated the body was “posterior-to-anterior, right-to-left and infero-superior”, indicating that the projectile entered the body from behind, through the lower abdomen and pelvis, moving from the lower body to the upper part of the body and from the right side of the body to the left side.

The pathologist made several positive observations about the body based on his external examination, noting that the “face is clean shaven”, the “ears have not been pierced for jewellery”, the “mouth contains a set of natural teeth in good state of repair”, the “finger nails are short, clean and well kept”, that “there is no identifiable nicotine staining of the fingers”, the “toe nails are also short, clean and well kept”, and that no “external evidence of significant natural disease is observed;” adding that he had no scars, tattoos, or other marks.

The report concluded that based on the forensic medical evidence, the fatal injuries resulted from a firearm projectile entering the abdominal region and causing extensive internal damage and haemorrhage.

Further proceedings in the coroner’s inquest have been adjourned to October 6, 2026.

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