The organisation made this known in a statement shared on its X account on Thursday, following confirmation that a previously unidentified body was that of the 20-year-old student journalist who disappeared while reporting on the protests in Lagos.
According to Amnesty International, Onifade was allegedly shot dead by police officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force on October 24, 2020. It further alleged that after he was killed, security operatives removed his body from the scene and deposited it at the General Hospital mortuary in Ikorodu, Lagos.
“The revelation yesterday that a DNA test result confirmed that a previously unidentified body was that of journalist Pelumi Onifade further shows the horrifying level of violence unleashed on protesters and journalists during #EndSARS protests in October 2020,” the organisation said.
It added, “Nigerian police attached to the Lagos State Task Force deliberately killed the 20-year-old journalist, Pelumi Onifade, on Saturday, October 24, 2020. His body was later dumped at the mortuary of General Hospital Ikorodu, Lagos.”
The rights organisation recalled that Onifade was a 200-level History student at Tai Solarin University of Education and was serving as an intern with Gboah TV, an online television platform, when he disappeared during the nationwide protests.
Amnesty International said eyewitnesses reported that the young journalist was covering one of the protest scenes in Ikeja alongside other journalists when he was shot.
According to the organisation, witnesses also stated that Onifade was clearly dressed in a press jacket at the time of the incident.
“Eye witnesses 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 a pool of his own blood and while clearly wearing a press jacket, police dragged his body into their van,” the statement read.
Amnesty International maintained that Onifade’s case reflects a broader pattern of alleged abuses recorded during the #EndSARS demonstrations.
“The case of Pelumi Onifade is just one of many shocking atrocities committed by Nigeria’s security agencies during #EndSARS protests,” the organisation added.
The organisation noted that the DNA confirmation is expected to revive demands for justice and accountability over the killings and alleged abuses committed during the #EndSARS protests, when thousands of Nigerians took to the streets to demand an end to police brutality, extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations.