Six years after the #EndSARS protests against police brutality, the mother of slain journalist Pelumi Onifade is still demanding the release of her son’s remains and justice over his death.
Onifade, a 20-year-old journalist with Gboah TV, went missing in October 2020 while covering the protests in Lagos State.
Accounts of the incident alleged that he was shot and taken away by operatives of the Lagos State Police Task Force during an operation to disperse protesters.
His disappearance triggered a prolonged search by his family, who have continued to demand answers about the circumstances surrounding his death and the whereabouts of his remains.
Speaking with Daily Trust by telephone on Tuesday, his mother, Bosede Onifade, said she would not stop seeking justice for her son.
“Don’t I have a right to demand my son’s remains, even if they say he is dead? What do I tell my God? Do I tell Him that I cannot account for the son He gave me?” she asked.
She said the pain of losing her son had been compounded by the fact that he had yet to be buried six years after his disappearance.
“I feel so bad every day about his death and the fact that he has not been buried. People should fear God. I know I don’t know people, but I have God. The matter is still in court.
“I always remember his promise to make the family proud. We all looked up to him as the future of the family, but his life was cut short, and we couldn’t even get his corpse six years after,” she said.
The search for Onifade’s remains led his family to an unidentified body at a government hospital mortuary in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The body, registered under identification number 1385, became central to efforts to establish what happened to the missing journalist.
In 2024, the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death following a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda.
Subsequent legal proceedings, including a coroner’s inquest, sought to establish the identity of the body and determine the circumstances of his death.
Reports in 2026 indicated that DNA testing had confirmed that the remains belonged to Onifade. However, his family’s demand for the release of the remains and accountability for his death has remained unresolved.
His case highlights the continuing anguish of families seeking answers about loved ones who died or went missing during the #EndSARS protests and the security crackdown that followed.
Six Years After #EndSARS Protests
The #EndSARS protests began in October 2020 following years of complaints against the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which faced allegations of harassment, extortion, unlawful arrests, torture, profiling and extrajudicial killings.
Thousands of young Nigerians participated in demonstrations demanding the disbandment of SARS, police reforms and improved governance.
The protests attracted national and international attention following the shooting of demonstrators at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.
The Federal Government denied that soldiers had shot at protesters. Lai Mohammed, the then Minister of Information and Culture, described reports of a massacre as a “phantom massacre”.
However, the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, established to investigate the incident, found that protesters were shot at, injured and killed.
The state government subsequently rejected key aspects of the panel’s findings, including elements of its conclusions concerning casualties.
Following the protests, police authorities disbanded SARS and established the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to handle armed robbery and other violent crimes.
The replacement generated controversy, with activists questioning whether the new unit would deliver meaningful reforms or continue practices associated with SARS.
A 2023 assessment of the #EndSARS movement noted that protesters remained suspicious of the transition from SARS to SWAT, fearing that similar abuses could continue under a different name.
Human rights lawyer Onyeisi Chiemeke said publicly available, independently verified evidence was insufficient to determine whether SWAT had significantly reduced police brutality or restored public trust.
He added that reports of police brutality and harassment of young Nigerians had continued.
Chiemeke argued that replacing one tactical unit with another was not enough to guarantee accountability.
Human Rights Watch also raised concerns about the lack of clarity over whether security personnel had been arrested or prosecuted for their roles in the crackdown on protesters. The organisation documented accounts of demonstrators who sustained gunshot injuries.
Police Fire Tear Gas at Lekki Tollgate Anniversary Gathering
Meanwhile, tension erupted on Tuesday at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos as police fired tear gas to disperse activists and concerned Nigerians who gathered to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests.
The gathering was organised to honour those who lost their lives and renew calls for accountability and police reforms.
The use of tear gas forced participants to flee, disrupting the planned commemoration.
Among those present were Lagos State governorship candidates of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
Despite the disruption, activists vowed to continue demanding justice and reforms while keeping alive the memory of those who died during the protests.
The incident was not the first time police had used tear gas to disperse people gathered at the tollgate to mark the anniversary.
In October 2021, police fired tear gas during a memorial procession organised by youths and celebrities to honour victims of police brutality.
The then Lagos Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said officers were dispersing people he described as “miscreants” rather than participants in the procession.
In 2024, police again fired tear gas to disperse protesters marking the fourth anniversary of the demonstrations.
The protesters had demanded the full implementation of recommendations made by judicial panels established after the 2020 protests.
Police said officers acted after the protesters refused to disperse.
Six years after the protests began, Onifade’s family continues to seek the release of his remains, while broader demands for accountability and meaningful police reforms remain central to the #EndSARS legacy.
