The National Coalition Against Mass Killings, Mob Action and Impunity (NCAMKI) yesterday joined the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organisation (GAFAMORG), in solidarity with the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in demanding justice for the deceased journalist, Pelumi Onifade.

Other organisations involved in the campaign include Amnesty International Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), following the DNA confirmation of the identity of the late Onifade.

In a statement from its secretariat, signed by one Tunde Agunbiade, NCAMKI commended the partner-organisations for their consistency, courage, and unwavering advocacy for accountability despite institutional delays and official silence.

According to the group, their efforts have kept Pelumi’s name alive when he had since been reduced to “Body 1385.” It restated commitment to unfailing public support for the bereaved parents, Mr and Mrs Olatunde Onifade, who have endured six years of grief, uncertainty, and the denial of a dignified burial for their son, adding that “no family should be made to fight for the identity of their child.”

The deceased Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old reporter with Gboah TV and a History student, was arrested on October 24, 2020, while covering the #EndSARS protests in Lagos. Six days later, an unidentified body was deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital and tagged “Body 1385.” In June 2026, a coroner-ordered DNA test confirmed that the body was Pelumi Onifade.

NCAMKI noted that Pelumi’s death sits at the intersection of two crises that Nigeria must confront: attacks on press freedom and impunity in cases of mass killings and mob violence.

The coalition lamented that a journalist was arrested while carrying out his constitutionally protected duty of documenting events of public interest, and his camera became a threat while his life became expendable.

It further noted that whether by a mob on the street or by agents of the state while in custody, the pattern remains the same – disappearances, unidentified bodies in mortuaries, delayed or denied investigations, and no one held accountable.

The group stressed that “Body 1385” could have been any Nigerian, stating that “when a journalist can vanish with a press jacket on, and a citizen can be reduced to a morgue tag for six years, impunity becomes state policy.”

Meanwhile, in line with the July 19, 2024, Federal High Court order and the ongoing coroner’s inquest, NCAMKI called on the Lagos State Government, the Nigeria Police Force, and all relevant authorities to immediately publish the full autopsy report for the body 1385 and the DNA report confirming Pelumi’s identity.

The coalition also urged the authorities to identify, suspend, and prosecute all task force officers and other individuals involved in Pelumi’s arrest, custody, and handling on October 24, 2020, within a definite timeframe.

The group further demanded the immediate release of the late journalist’s remains to his family for a dignified burial, as well as systemic reforms, including a mandatory 48-hour DNA and digital identification protocol for all unclaimed bodies in state mortuaries and independent investigations into all deaths in custody.