CPJ, partners call for release of slain Nigerian journalist’s body

The Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, and the Media Foundation for West Africa released a joint statement on Tuesday, September 3, calling on Nigerian authorities to ensure the body of slain journalist Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi is released to his family and that those responsible for his death are identified and held to account. 

Pelumi, an intern at Gboah TV, was shot on October 24, 2020, while covering the #EndSARS protests in Ikeja, the capital of Nigeria’s southwestern Lagos state. The injured journalist was reported to have been seen in the custody of the police; his body was found in a mortuary a week later.

The statement said, “the continued refusal to release Pelumi’s body violates the family’s customary right” so they can provide a proper burial. “Without accountability, Pelumi’s case will add to several other unresolved killings of journalists in Nigeria, perpetuating a culture of impunity and promoting self-censorship,” the statement said.

Read the full statement here.