The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has called on the Nigerian authorities to shed light on the death of Pelumi Onifade, a 20-year-old trainee journalist whose body was found in a morgue earlier this month on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria, several days after he was arrested by the police.
I call on the Nigerian authorities to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of Pelumi Onifade's death. Journalists covering protests are key players in ensuring the rule of law and democracy, and it is vital that they be able to carry out their work safely.
Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General
Pelumi Onifade, who was an intern at Gboah TV, a news outlet broadcasting on the internet in Lagos, had been sent to report on a rally in front of a food shed on 24 October in Agege on the outskirts of Lagos. According to witnesses, Mr. Onifade was apprehended by police despite wearing a jacket identifying him as a journalist. He had not reappeared since then and his family, who had reported him missing, found his body in the morgue of Ikorodu, near Lagos.
UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
