For the umpteenth time now, Nigerian youths are crying out to the authorities to get justice for yet another fallen comrade who got arrested and was reportedly murdered by the police while he was being held in police custody. 20-year-old Pelumi Onifade, an undergraduate of the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), was reported missing after hoodlums hijacked the #EndSARS protest. Sadly, his body was found in a morgue about a week after a frantic search by his family.
Pelumi who was working for Gboa TV before his demise, was arrested by the police on October 24 2020, at the Abbatoir, Oko Oba area of Agege, Lagos, while reporting on the looting that was ongoing at the time. After he was found dead by his distraught family, the police have reportedly refused to release his body to them, sadly.
According to a family member of the deceased:
“Pelumi went to record the incident of looting at the abattoir as a staff of Gboa TV on Saturday 24/10/2020 only to be arrested by men of the Lagos Task Force and after searching for him aggressively for seven days, we were told that he had been shot dead and his body deposited at the morgue.
“We are begging them now to release his corpse and explain to us how he died. Why was he arrested at Agege, only for us to be told that his corpse is at Ikorodu General Hospital morgue. They just wasted the boy for no reason.”
Pelumi’s death in the hands of the police is rather unfortunate. Sadly, this is how the lives of several young Nigerians have been wasted over time for simply going about their business. And many families have been thrown into a state of mourning for no just cause.
It is worrisome that the Nigerian Police still operates with impunity despite several calls on the government to reform the institution. But the authorities would rather look away while innocent citizens get harassed and killed by security operatives who should be protecting them.
As concerned Nigerians keep calling the attention of the authorities to the many atrocities of the police force, it is hoped that Pelumi and all others who were sadly murdered by security operatives will receive the justice they deserve.
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