Six Years After Disappearance, DNA Reveals Death Of #EndSARS Journalist, Pelumi Onifade

DNA results has confirmed that a young Journalist, Pelumi Onifade, missing for about six years during the #EndSARS protests had since died.

An unidentified body recovered during the protest has been confirmed to be the body of the young  Journalist.

At the Coroner’s Court in Lagos, reality finally dawned on the family of the Journalist, as the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre revealed that a body previously tagged as “No. 1385” matched the DNA profile of the late Gboah TV reporter.

Coroner Temitope Oladele disclosed that genetic analysis established a biological relationship between the body and a sample provided by Pelumi’s mother, Adebose Onifade.

The confirmation has brought an end to years of agonising uncertainty over her son’s fate.

This development left Pelumi’s Mum devastated. She wept profusely when the court formally confirmed the identity of the body.

Recall that the Reporter disappeared on October 24, 2020, while covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos.

It was gathered from the accounts of witnesses that he was shot and later arrested by security operatives.

His disappearance sparked outrage among Journalists, civil society groups and human rights advocates, who repeatedly demanded answers from authorities.

The ongoing inquest followed a July 2024 judgment by Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in a suit instituted by Media Rights Agenda, MRA.