The body was said to be tagged 1385, which LASUTH reportedly have received from the Ikorodu General Hospital on November 3, 2020 and conducted post-mortem examination on later that month.

The investigating magistrate, Mrs. Temitope Oladele, issued the fresh order during the last proceedings in the coroner’s inquest on March 3, 2026, at the request of Mr. Alimi Adamu, who led Mr. Monday Arunsi and Mr. Somto Afulukwe, as lawyers to Media Rights Agenda, MRA, and Pelumi Onifade’s family, following the failure of LASUTH to comply with an earlier order made on November 18, 2025, directing the hospital to produce “a comprehensive and specific report” relating to the body.

At the resumption of the proceedings at which Mr. Adebola Araba represented the Office of the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr. Adamu told the District Coroner that Pelumi’s parents, Mr. Olatunde Onifade and Mrs. Bose Onifade, were present in court.

Mrs. Oladele acknowledged their presence and formally expressed her condolences to the family for the death of their son.

Mr. Adamu said he had received confirmation that the protracted strike at LASUTH, which had stalled progress in the matter since the earlier order was made, had been called off and asked if the Coroner had received a report from LASUTH in compliance with the November 18, 2025 order.

The Coroner asked if the order had been duly served on the hospital, upon which Mr. Arunsi confirmed that the order was served on LASUTH in January 2026.

The Coroner, however, noted that there was no proof of service of the order in the Court’s file, and Mr. Arunsi promised to follow up with the court’s bailiff, whom he said had earlier told him that the proof of service had been filed.

The Coroner also asked whether the lawyers had visited LASUTH following the suspension of the strike, to which Mr. Arunsi responded that he had been to the hospital, adding that he just returned from LASUTH that morning before coming to the Court.

He explained that he visited the administrative block where the officials acknowledged that they had received the Court’s order but were unable to confirm if the hospital had complied with the order.

Mr. Alimi then observed that the November 18, 2025, order was directed generally at LASUTH and not to any specific official of the hospital, and applied for a fresh order directed specifically to the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH.

Mrs. Oladele granted the application and ordered the Chief Medical Director “to give a report of the body with the tag number 1385 said to have been received on behalf of LASUTH on 3rd November 2020 from Ikorodu General Hospital, within fourteen (14) days of receipt of this Order.”

She thereafter adjourned further proceedings in the matter to March 24, 2026.

The coroner’s inquest into Pelumi Onifade’s death was convened on the orders of a Federal High Court in Lagos following a suit brought against the Police and the Lagos State Government by MRA, demanding, among other things, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the late journalist.

In his judgment in that suit, delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji directed the Attorney-General of Lagos State to take all necessary steps to ensure an investigation into the circumstances of the younger Mr Onifade’s death and to conduct a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of death, as well as identify and prosecute those responsible for his death.

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Urging the government to promptly comply with the court’s directive to bring all such laws in Nigeria into conformity with its international human rights obligations, MRA stressed that failure to abide by the judgment would not only undermine the rule of law and weaken the regional human rights system but also further tarnish Nigeria’s reputation as a democracy committed to the fundamental rights of its citizens.

In a unanimous judgment by three judges in a suit filed by a human rights organisation, Expression Now Human Rights Initiative, the ECOWAS Court held on April 9 that the blasphemy provisions in the Kano State Penal Code, its Sharia Penal Code Law of 2000, and similar provisions in other laws violate key human rights guarantees, particularly the right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by the African Charter and the ICCPR.

The court further ruled that Nigeria, as a State Party to the African Charter and the ICCPR, is bound to ensure that its domestic laws, including state-level legislation, comply with these international instruments.

It accordingly ordered the federal government to ensure the repeal or amendment of blasphemy provisions in the Kano State Penal Code, its Sharia Penal Code Law of 2000, and similar provisions in other laws as they are incompatible with Nigeria’s obligations to guarantee freedom of expression under the regional and international instruments.

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In a statement issued in Lagos, Mr. Monday Arunsi, Acting Head of MRA’s Legal Department, said the organisation agreed fully with the court’s reasoning when it stated that “capital punishment is typically reserved for serious crimes like murder, terrorism or genocide where there is a clear victim who has suffered grave harm, not speech or disrespect. The Court is of the opinion that there are less restrictive ways in which the State could limit the freedom of expression for the purpose of ensuring respect for the religious beliefs of others and the preservation of public peace.”

According to Arunsi, “Nigeria cannot pick and choose which of its international obligations to respect. The judgment of the ECOWAS Court is binding, and the federal government has a legal and moral duty to comply with it and ensure that the provisions of all federal and state laws are consistent with the regional and international instruments to which it is a State Party and, in particular, that the laws protect the rights and freedoms enshrined in the African Charter and the ICCPR, which Nigeria has voluntarily ratified. Compliance is, therefore, not optional.”

He noted that the court’s decision reinforces longstanding concerns by human rights advocates in Nigeria and internationally that certain provisions of the Sharia Penal Code of Kano State and similar laws in many other States, particularly those criminalising blasphemy and prescribing harsh punishments such as the death penalty, are inconsistent with international human rights standards.

Arunsi called on the federal government to “demonstrate leadership in the region by taking immediate steps to engage with the government of Kano State and other states with similar laws to ensure a comprehensive review and reform of such legislation, in line with Nigeria’s international obligations and in compliance with the orders of the Court.”

He stressed that such reforms should include the amendment or repeal of all provisions that violate the right to freedom of expression, while preserving freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, adding that “Respect for the rule of law and for the decisions of competent international courts is fundamental to the protection of human rights, the promotion of justice, and the preservation of Nigeria’s standing in the international community.”

Arunsi also urged the National Assembly, the National Human Rights Commission, and other relevant institutions to play their part in ensuring that the Nigeria’s legal framework fully aligned with its commitments under regional and international human rights treaties.

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