A postmortem examination has confirmed that Gboah TV journalist, Pelumi Onifade, died from a gunshot injury that caused extensive damage to his abdomen and massive internal bleeding.

Onifade was reportedly shot and arrested while covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos on October 24, 2020.

A nine-page postmortem report issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) stated that a firearm projectile entered his body through the lower back and caused fatal injuries to his abdominal region.

The report, according to Media Rights Agenda (MRA), gave the cause of death as “massive haemoperitoneum and penetrating firearms injury to the abdomen.”

The examination, conducted at the LASUTH morgue on November 4, 2020, was carried out by Consultant Pathologist, Professor Sunday Sokunle Soyemi, with Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa, Supervising Consultant, in attendance.

The examination was authorised by the Coroner, Mrs Bola Folarin-Williams.
The report was finalised and signed on July 30, 2026.

It identified the body, tagged No. 1385, as that of Onifade, based on DNA analysis supplied by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre.

According to MRA, the massive haemoperitoneum showed that a large quantity of blood had accumulated in the abdominal cavity following internal injuries caused by the projectile.

The autopsy also found bony fragments embedded in the soft tissue of the abdomen, consistent with a penetrating firearm injury, as well as a fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebra.

The pathologist recorded the trajectory of the projectile as posterior-to-anterior, right-to-left and infero-superior, indicating that it entered from the back and travelled through the lower abdomen and pelvis towards the upper part of the body.

The findings were contained in the report submitted to the Coroner’s Court investigating the circumstances surrounding Onifade’s death.

The inquest was convened by the Lagos State Government following an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos, secured after MRA filed a suit against the state government and the Nigeria Police Force.

MRA had sought, among other things, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death.

In a judgment delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take the necessary steps to investigate Onifade’s death and conduct a coroner’s inquest to establish the cause of death and identify and prosecute those responsible.

The postmortem report also recorded the absence of any obvious signs of significant natural disease.

The pathologist noted that Onifade had no scars, tattoos or other distinguishing marks, while his face was clean-shaven and his fingernails and toenails were short, clean and well kept.

The report concluded that the fatal injuries were caused by a firearm projectile that entered the abdominal region, resulting in extensive internal damage and haemorrhage.

Further proceedings in the coroner’s inquest have been adjourned to October 6, 2026.