The mystery surrounding the disappearance of journalist Pelumi Onifade during the 2020 #EndSARS protests has finally been resolved after DNA test results confirmed that an unidentified body deposited at an Ikorodu mortuary was his.

Pelumi, who was covering the youth-led protests, reportedly went missing after being arrested by police officers in Agege on October 24, 2020, despite identifying himself as a journalist and wearing a press jacket.

After years of uncertainty, a magistrate confirmed that DNA results matched a sample provided by Pelumi’s mother with the previously unidentified body recovered in Ikorodu.

“The DNA results established a match between the previously unidentified body and the sample provided by Pelumi’s mother,” the court heard.

The development comes almost four years after a Federal High Court in Lagos directed the Lagos State Government to conduct a coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding his d3ath and ordered the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to carry out a post-mortem examination.

LASUTH had earlier stated that identification efforts were delayed after DNA samples stored at the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre were destroyed during the #EndSARS unrest.

The confirmation has brought long-awaited answers to Pelumi’s family, who spent years searching for information about his whereabouts.

His legal team is now seeking an autopsy to determine the exact cause of d3ath. The case has been adjourned until July 7, 2026.