A postmortem report has confirmed that late Gboah TV journalist, Pelumi Onifade, died following a bullet wound from a gunshot fired through his lower back that extensively damaged his abdomen and led to massive internal bleeding.
The Media Rights Agenda, in a statement on Thursday by its communications officer, Idowu Adewale, said the report of the postmortem examination, conducted on November 4, 2020, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital morgue, was finalised and signed on July 30, 2026, and submitted to the Coroner Court, convened by the Lagos State government, on the orders of a Federal High Court.
Mr Onifade, who was reportedly shot and arrested while covering the #EndSARS protests on October 24, 2020, died from fatal injuries resulting from a “firearm projectile”.
The report disclosed that consultant pathologist Professor Sunday Sokunle Soyemi conducted the autopsy, with supervising consultant John Oladapo Obafunwa in attendance, with the authorisation of coroner Bola Folarin-Williams.
The autopsy report complied with the court order to investigate the death of Mr Onifade, following a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda against the Babajide Sanwo-Olu government and the Nigeria Police Force, demanding, among other things, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.
Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji, in a judgement on July 19, 2024, directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take all necessary steps to make sure the investigation and a coroner’s inquest are conducted to ascertain the cause of his death, as well as identify and prosecute those responsible for the murder.
According to the nine-page postmortem report, the “Cause of Death” was attributed to “Massive haemoperitoneum” and “Penetrating firearms injury to the abdomen”, and identified the body, tagged No 1385, as that of Pelumi Onifade, based on a DNA analysis provided by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre.
It stated that 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.”
The postmortem also 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”.
It explained that 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 important 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 “fingernails are short, clean and well kept”.
He also said that “there is no identifiable nicotine staining of the fingers”, the “toenails 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 then 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.
The Media Rights Agenda noted that proceedings in the coroner’s inquest have been adjourned until October 6, 2026.