Amnesty International has alleged that operatives of the Lagos State Task Force deliberately killed 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade during the #EndSARS protests in October 2020, describing the incident as one of several grave human rights violations committed by Nigerian security agencies during the demonstrations.
The human rights organization made the allegation on Thursday following the confirmation through a DNA test that a previously unidentified body was that of Pelumi Onifade, an intern with GboahTV who went missing while covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos.
According to Amnesty International, Onifade was shot by police officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force on Saturday, October 24, 2020, while reporting on one of the protest scenes in Ikeja. The organization alleged that after he sustained gunshot wounds, officers dragged his body into their vehicle despite the fact that he was clearly wearing a press jacket.
“His body was later dumped at the mortuary of the General Hospital, Ikorodu, Lagos,” Amnesty International stated.
Pelumi Onifade was a 200-level History student at Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State, and was undergoing internship training with the online television platform, GboahTV.
Eyewitnesses quoted by Amnesty International said they saw the young journalist sustain gunshot injuries while covering the protest alongside other journalists. They alleged that police officers took him away in a van while he lay in a pool of blood.
The rights group said the confirmation of Onifade’s identity through DNA testing underscores the scale of violence unleashed on protesters and journalists during the #EndSARS demonstrations in October 2020.
Amnesty International described the killing of Pelumi Onifade as one of many “shocking atrocities” allegedly committed by Nigeria’s security agencies during the nationwide protests, calling attention to the need for accountability and justice for victims of the #EndSARS crackdown.
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