The long-running inquest into the death of Nigerian journalist Pelumi Onifade suffered another setback on Tuesday after the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) failed to comply with a court order to produce a crucial report on an unidentified body linked to the case.
Consequently, Magistrate Temitope Oladele of the Lagos State District Coroner’s Court adjourned the proceedings to April 7, 2026.
She granted LASUTH what she described as a “final opportunity” to submit findings on a body tagged ‘1385.’
These were contained in a statement by Media Rights Agenda on Wednesday, March 25, signed by its Communications Officer, Idowu Adewale.
Part of the statement reads, “The Coroner Court investigating the death of Mr Pelumi Onifade, a young journalist with Gboah TV, who was reportedly shot while covering the #EndSARS protests on October 24, 2020, has adjourned the matter to April 7, 2026, following the failure of the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to comply with the Court’s order to produce a report on the whereabout of an unidentified body tagged 1385 which LASUTH was said to have been received from the Ikorodu General Hospital on November 3, 2020 and conducted post-mortem examination on later that month.”
The ICIR reported in 2025 that the court ordered the hospital to release necessary documents relating to the deposit, release or current status of the journalist remains within seven days of receipt of the order to representatives of the MRA, following an application by MRA’s lawyer.
According to MRA, the order, first made on November 18, 2025, directed LASUTH to produce “a comprehensive and specific report” relating to the body.
After repeated failure by LASUTH to produce the report, on March 3, 2026, the MRA’s counsel, Alimi Adamu observed that the order was directed generally at LASUTH and not to any specific official of the hospital, which would make enforcement difficult, and applied for a fresh order directed specifically to the CMD.
The judge granted the application and issued a fresh order directing the chief medical director “to give a report of the body with the tag number 1385 said to have been received on behalf of LASUTH on 3rd November 2020 from Ikorodu General Hospital, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of this order.”
When the matter came up on March 24, the hospital did not produce the report and was not represented in court by any official or lawyer, the MRA said.
The organisation urged the court to invoke enforcement by issuing a “Form 48”, a legal notice requiring the CMD to show the reason a contempt proceeding should not be initiated against him, due to the frustration by the repeated non-compliance.
“Although Mr. Alimi Adamu, lawyer to Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the Onifade family, applied to the court to issue a “Form 48” (notice to show cause why order of court should not be enforced by committal proceedings) against the CMD for the continued disobedience of the court’s order in the light of the hospital’s repeated failure to produce the report, the investigating magistrate, Mrs Temitope Oladele, said she wanted to give the medical director a final opportunity to comply with the order.”
Adewale explained that Oladele declined the second application and directed the legal team to follow up with LASUTH to ensure compliance before the next hearing.
The ICIR reported that Onifade, a young reporter with Gboah TV, was allegedly shot while covering protests against police brutality in October 2020. His death became one of the most troubling cases linked to the nationwide demonstrations that called for an end to abuses by security forces.
The coroner’s inquest stemmed from a landmark ruling delivered on July 19, 2024, by Ayokunle Faji, a judge of the Federal High Court in Lagos. In that judgment, the court ordered the Lagos State Government to investigate Onifade’s death, identify those responsible, and ensure they are prosecuted.
The suit, filed by MRA, had challenged both the police and the Lagos State Government over what it described as a failure to properly investigate the killing.
For Onifade’s family and press freedom advocates, the continued delays now compounded by LASUTH’s failure to comply with court orders highlight the persistent obstacles to justice in cases involving state institutions.
As the court reconvenes in April, attention will once again turn to whether LASUTH will finally produce the report that could shed light on the fate of body “1385”—and possibly bring the country closer to answers in a case that has lingered unresolved for over five years. [ICIR]
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