DNA test confirms Pelumi Onifade's body was in Ikorodu mortuary since 2020

The Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre has confirmed through a DNA test that an unidentified body deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary in 2020 is that of Pelumi Onifade, the Gboah TV journalist arrested during the ENDSARS protest. Coroner Temitope Oladele revealed this on Tuesday, stating that the test matched the body, tagged 1385, with a sample provided by the journalist's mother, Adebose Onifade.

Onifade was arrested by police from the Lagos State Task Force on October 24, 2020, while covering a mob attack in Agege. He was wearing a jacket identifying him as a journalist but was taken away anyway. Days later, his body was found in the Ikorodu mortuary. The family has waited nearly six years for this confirmation, and the coroner has now directed LASUTH to produce the autopsy report or face legal compulsion.

This is a devastating but necessary step toward accountability. How many more families are waiting for answers like this?