By Adebayo Miracle
On the 28th of August 2021, it was gathered that MRA which is the Media Rights Agenda filed a law suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria asking the Lagos State Government and authorities of the Police to launch a vivid, transparent, independent investigations free from partiality to the circumstances leading to the death of Mr Pelumi Onifade, a journalist killed while doing his job during the #ENDSARS protest in 2020.
Late Mr Pelumi Onifade was a 20 year old student at Tai Solarin University of Education, a part two student of department of history in the school which is located at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state. He was working as a reporter under internship at Gboah Tv, a privately owned media organization.
Late Onifade was on the course of performing his duties as a journalist, when he was allegedly shot while taking a covering of the #ENDSARS protest in Lagos for the television on October 24 2020. He was shot, and arrested by the policemen who took him away while bleeding. It was reported that Pelumi Onifade had died in the police custody as the police informed his family a corpse was deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital morgue in Lagos. His corpse was found at the hospital on October 30, 2020.
In one of the summons filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Charles Musa on behalf of the MRA against the (COP) Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General Of Police(IGP), and the Attorney-General of Lagos State, the organization is asking the court to determine if:
Mr. Pelumi Onifade’s shooting and arrest by the agents of the commissioner and IGP on 24th of October 2020 while performing his journalistic duties were nconstitutional and a gross violation to his freedom of expression and fundamental rights as guaranteed by section 33,35 and 39 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and articles 4, 5 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights ( Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the federation 2004;
Mr Pelumi Onifade’s death in the Police custody regarded as extrajudicial killing and infringement of his fundamental rights as guaranteed by section 33,35 and 39 of the constitution and Articles 4,5 and 9 of the African Charter; and if the police have an obligation to investigate the death of Onifade Pelumi as a journalist exercising his right to freedom of expression, having regard to the provisions of section 33 and 39 of the constitution and Articles 4 and 9 of the African charter;
By virtues of the section 33 and 39 of the Constitution, Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charter, section 15,18 and 21 of the Coroner system Law of Lagos state, the government of the Lagos state has an obligation to conduct a coroner’s inquest procedure to discover the cause of the death of Onifade; and
Regarding the provisions of Section 33,35,39 and 46(1) of the constitution and Articles 4,5 and 9of the African charter, the court can direct the Police and the government of Lagos state to investigate the harassment, shooting, arrest and death of Onifade while in the custody of agents of the commissioner and the IGP.
According to the report, the MRA stated that in the events, all these questions were resolved in its favour, as an organization incorporated under the companies and Allied Matters Act, with a mission to promote freedom of expression and the press and the right of access to information in Nigeria, it is entitled, among other things, to various orders by the court directing the Police and the Lagos state government to launch a transparent, impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of Onifade’s death; to conduct a Coroner’s inquest procedure to ascertain cause of his death as well as for them to accordingly identify and Prosecute those responsible for his death.
The MRA is also praying the court direct the defendants to identify and also prosecute all those involved and responsible for the death of Mr Pelumi ONifade.