A Lagos State District Coroner has ordered contempt proceedings against the Medical Director of Ikorodu General Hospital for allegedly disobeying a court order to produce records related to the death of Pelumi Onifade, a journalist who died in police custody during the #EndSARS protests in 2020.
This is contained in a statement signed by the MRA’s Communications Officer, Idowu Adewale, and sent to WikkiTimes on Wednesday.
According to the statement, presiding Coroner Mrs. Temitope Oladele issued the order during Tuesday’s hearing of the inquest into Onifade’s death. She directed that Form 48, known as a “Notice of Consequences of Disobedience of Court Order,” be served on the Medical Director or any authorized representative of the hospital.
The order followed an application by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), represented by Monday Arunsi, who told the court that the hospital had failed to comply with a previous directive issued on August 8, 2025, requiring it to produce records on the deposit, release, or status of Onifade’s remains.
MRA said its legal team visited the hospital on October 2 to meet with the Medical Director but waited over five hours without being attended to. Counsel Samuel Adebola, who appeared alongside Arunsi, told the court that the hospital had ignored the order for over a month.
Granting the application, the Coroner ruled that contempt proceedings be initiated against the hospital for non-compliance and adjourned further hearing to October 22, 2025.
Onifade, a reporter with Gboah TV, was arrested by police officers attached to a Lagos State task force while covering the #EndSARS protests and was later found dead at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary.
