A Lagos-based barber, Babajide Adelowo, has died following alleged torture during 28 days in police custody over suspected possession of firearms.
He reportedly died a day after his release, with his family accusing officers of subjecting him to severe physical abuse while in detention.
Adelowo was reportedly arrested by operatives of the X-Squad of the Lagos State Police Command at his barbing shop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba, on October 6.
He was released on November 3 after spending 28 days in custody.
The deceased’s family alleged that the police subjected him to repeated torture, including hanging him from a weightlifting rod with his hands and legs tied.
They claimed the treatment left him unable to walk or feed himself without assistance.
The family also accused the officers of arresting him without a warrant, confiscating items from his shop and denying him adequate access to his relatives and lawyers during his detention.
Narrating the arrest to The PUNCH on Saturday, the deceased’s uncle, Samson Adelowo, said the police searched the shop extensively but found no firearms.
“They came to arrest my brother on the grounds that he owned firearms. They searched the shop, broke the ceiling and opened the water tank, but they could not find anything.
“What I found disturbing was that they also took his generator, chairs and other materials from the shop. What was the connection between the allegation against him and the items they removed from his shop?
“They seized his phone and did not allow him to contact anybody in his family. We had to engage lawyers to follow up on the matter, but throughout the 28 days he spent there, the lawyers were only allowed to see him about two or three times, with restricted access at other times.”
Samson further alleged that the deceased’s wife was threatened with arrest when she attempted to visit him.
He also claimed that the chairman of the estate, who accompanied the lawyers to meet the police team, was detained and allegedly forced to pay N50,000 before securing his release.
“The estate chairman went with the lawyers to meet the team leader. He explained that Babajide was known in the community as a peaceful person and that he was one of the estate’s security officers.
“But instead of listening to him, the officer allegedly threatened to detain him. The chairman eventually paid N50,000 before he was allowed to go.”
According to the uncle, Adelowo’s health deteriorated significantly while he was in custody before he was eventually released to his family.
His wife, Mariam, told The PUNCH on Saturday that her husband was in a critical condition when the police handed him over to the family at the roadside.
She said the officers brought him to the PWD bus stop in a vehicle, assisted him into the family’s car and gave them a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, alongside a bag containing medical supplies.
“When we saw him, he could not even walk properly. He was so pale and fragile. The police officers were the ones guiding him into our car. They told us to handle him carefully and take him straight to the hospital.
“They handed over a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and a nylon bag containing drips, plaster and some other medical items. I still have the bag with me. When they handed him to us, they said the ailment was already in his body, but my husband sharply objected and said he had never had the symptoms,” she said.
Mariam said her husband began recounting his alleged ordeal in detention while they were taking him to the hospital.
“He told me that they would tie his hands and legs to a weightlifting rod and hang him for about 30 or 40 minutes. He said they did that to him three times. He also told me that they squeezed his hands with an instrument until his muscles and veins were affected.
“He said he became so weak that he could not feed himself or even take care of his personal needs. The other suspects in the cell were the ones helping him to eat and bathe. He also told me that he fainted four times while in detention,” she said.
The widow said the final episode of fainting occurred on the day he was taken to the hospital after fellow detainees reportedly raised the alarm.
She added that her husband regained consciousness to discover that he was covered in blood and faeces, with his clothes soaked in blood.
“He told me that the last time he fainted, he woke up and saw blood all over him. He had also passed stool on himself. The other people in the cell were shouting for help before he was taken to the hospital by the police on Sunday, which was two days before he was released to us. It was from the hospital that he called me and said he was in the hospital. He also ended the call immediately, and I could not reach him again.
“When I saw him after his release, I noticed that the clothes he was wearing were not his. He told me that his clothes had been soaked in blood and that the police had bought another set of clothes for him,” she added.
Mariam said the family took him to the hospital after his release, where he underwent a blood transfusion.
However, his condition reportedly worsened, with symptoms including vomiting blood and difficulty breathing.
Samson said the family was informed that Adelowo required six pints of blood but could only secure one before his condition deteriorated further.
The widow also alleged that her husband told her that another detainee had identified him to the police as someone who possessed firearms.
She said the individual later apologised to Adelowo in custody, claiming he had been instructed to identify him.
Mariam, who disclosed that the couple had a child, described her husband as a responsible family man who took care of their household.
She said his prolonged detention forced her to assume responsibilities she had not previously handled, while their son repeatedly asked when his father would return home.
“My husband was a very responsible man. He took care of his family 100 per cent and took full responsibility for everything. When he was detained, I had to start doing things I had never done before.
“My son kept asking me, ‘When is Daddy coming back?’ I kept assuring him that his father would return. Unfortunately, he did not see his father again until the day after he died, when he saw his corpse. It has not been easy for us,” she said.
Demanding justice, the widow accused the police of failing to check on her husband’s health after his release, saying neither she nor the family’s lawyer had been contacted.
“I want justice for my husband. They released someone who was almost dying, yet they did not call to ask about his health. They did not contact even the lawyer or me to find out how he was doing,” she said.
A medical report dated November 5, 2026, issued by the hospital where Adelowo was treated, stated that he was brought in on November 3 with symptoms including bleeding, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, general body weakness and anaemia.
The report, addressed to the Head of Pathology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, described him as acutely ill, lethargic, pale and dehydrated, with mild tenderness around the navel.
According to the report, doctors assessed him as having symptomatic anaemia secondary to upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, complicated by haemorrhagic shock.
It stated that he was admitted, blood samples were collected and treatment commenced.
“Adelowo received one pint of blood without complications and was awaiting a second pint when he began convulsing and vomiting. Although the symptoms stopped spontaneously, his oxygen level subsequently dropped, prompting the hospital to place him on supplemental oxygen and refer him to a tertiary health facility.
“About an hour later, he began gasping, prompting medical personnel to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“However, all attempts at resuscitation proved abortive.”
The report said Adelowo was subsequently pronounced dead, while his relative was informed of the development.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Adekunle Taofeek, has called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to initiate an independent investigation into the arrest, detention, alleged torture and death of the barber.
The movement demanded the identification and prosecution of officers attached to the CP-X Squad who might have been involved in the alleged abuses, including unlawful detention, extortion and denial of medical attention.
It also called for an independent autopsy, with the participation of the deceased’s family, to determine the cause of death and establish whether alleged physical abuse or denial of medical care contributed to the incident.
The group further demanded an investigation into the alleged demand for N10m and the collection of N50,000 from the estate chairman, as well as the recovery of the generator, chairs and other items allegedly taken from Adelowo’s shop.
It urged the police authorities to protect the deceased’s family and witnesses from intimidation and ensure that the family receives justice and appropriate compensation if liability is established.
The movement maintained that no criminal allegation justified torture, extortion or inhuman treatment, stressing that suspects must be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
It added that police officers should not be shielded from accountability by their uniforms, noting that Adelowo left behind a wife, young children and ageing parents who deserved answers.
When contacted on Sunday, the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, denied that the deceased was tortured.
“An official statement will be issued on that tomorrow,” she added.
