Amnesty International has described the DNA test result confirming that a previously unidentified body at the Ikorodu General Hospital morgue was missing Gboah TV journalist, Pelumi Onifade, as another pointer to the “shocking level of violence” inflicted on protesters and journalists during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.

The human rights organisation, in a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, also described the incident and DNA confirmation as another chapter in the horror unleashed during the anti-police brutality protests held across several states in 2020.

The organisation stated, “The revelation yesterday that a DNA test result confirmed that a previously unidentified body was that of journalist Pelumi Onifade further shows the horrifiying level of violence unleashed on protesters and journalists during #EndSARS protests in October 2020.” 

The organisation, which recounted how the late TV journalist’s death occurred, alleged that cops attached to the Lagos State Task Force “deliberately killed” the 20-year-old journalist on October 24, 2020.

It also alleged that the perpetrators subsequently dumped Mr Onifade’s body at the Ikorodu General Hospital morgue in Lagos State.

It noted that the victim was a 200-level student in the Department of History at the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State, and was an intern with an online television platform at the time of the incident.

“Eyewitnesses said on that day, while covering one of the scenes of #EndSARS protest alongside other journalists in Ikeja, they saw Pelumi sustain gunshot wounds. While in the pool of his own blood and while clearly wearing a press jacket police dragged his body into their van,” Amnesty International stated.  

The organisation noted that Mr Onifade’s case was one of the many shocking atrocities committed by security agencies, particularly during the #EndSARS protests.

Earlier, the Peoples Gazette reported that the investigating magistrate overseeing the coroner’s inquiry into Mr Onifade’s death, on Tuesday, disclosed that she received a sealed report confirming that an unidentified corpse deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital morgue was the reporter.

The investigator, Temitope Oladele, said a DNA test result presented by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre established a match between the unidentified body and the DNA sample provided by victim’s mother, Adebose Onifade.

On July 19, 2024, the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, directed the state government to open a coroner’s inquest to identify the factors responsible for Mr Onifade’s death and prosecute those responsible for the incident.

In November 2025, the coroner directed the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to conduct a post-mortem examination on an unidentified body tagged 1385, believed to be the missing journalist.

Also reacting to the DNA test result, a civic organisation, Media Rights Agenda, in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, noted that the DNA confirmation answered a critical question about Mr Onifade’s fate and “underscored the urgent need for accountability.”

“Nearly six years after journalist #PelumiOnifade disappeared while covering the #EndSARS protests, DNA test results have confirmed that a previously unidentified body was indeed his,” the media group said.

The media organisation stated that attacks on journalists should never go unpunished, adding that the failure to sanction perpetrators of misconducts against media practitioners could lead to consequences extending beyond individual victims.

“Journalists play an essential role in documenting events of public interest. When attacks against journalists go unpunished, the consequences extend beyond individual victims; they threaten press freedom, public accountability, and democratic governance,” the organisation stated.

“Media Rights Agenda remains committed to supporting efforts aimed at uncovering the full circumstances surrounding Pelumi’s death and ensuring that justice is served,” it added.