A Lagos-based barber, Babajide Adelowo, has died a day after his release from 28 days in police custody, with his family accusing officers of torturing him during detention over alleged possession of firearms.
Adelowo was arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command’s X-Squad at his barbing shop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba, on October 6 and released on November 3.
His family alleged that he was subjected to severe physical abuse in detention, including being repeatedly suspended from a weightlifting rod with his hands and legs tied.
According to his relatives, he became so weak that he could neither walk nor feed himself without assistance.
Narrating the arrest, his uncle, Samson Adelowo, told PUNCH Metro that the police searched the shop but found no firearms.
He alleged that the officers broke the ceiling, searched a water tank and seized items, including a generator, chairs and other materials.
Samson also accused the police of confiscating his nephew’s phone and restricting access to him during detention, despite repeated efforts by the family and their lawyers to visit.
He further alleged that the deceased’s wife was threatened with arrest when she attempted to see her husband, while an estate chairman who accompanied the lawyers to meet the police team was detained and allegedly forced to pay N50,000 for his release.
The uncle said Adelowo’s condition deteriorated in custody before the police eventually released him.
His wife, Mariam, said he was barely able to walk when officers handed him over to the family at PWD bus stop on November 3.
She said the officers helped him into the family’s vehicle and gave them a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, alongside a bag containing medical supplies.
According to her, Adelowo began recounting his alleged ordeal 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,” she said.
Mariam alleged that her husband also told her that officers squeezed his hands with an instrument, leaving his muscles and veins affected.
She said he had fainted four times in detention and was often assisted by other detainees to eat and attend to his personal needs.
The widow added that her husband told her he regained consciousness during one of the incidents to find himself covered in blood and faeces.
She said he was taken to hospital after other detainees reportedly raised the alarm, adding that his clothes had been soaked in blood and were later replaced by the police.
After his release, the family took Adelowo to hospital, where he received a blood transfusion. However, his condition reportedly worsened, with symptoms including vomiting blood and difficulty breathing.
Samson said the family was informed that Adelowo needed six pints of blood but could only obtain one before his condition deteriorated.
A medical report dated November 5, 2026, said Adelowo was brought to the hospital on November 3 with 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.
It said doctors assessed him as suffering from symptomatic anaemia secondary to upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, complicated by haemorrhagic shock.
According to the report, Adelowo received one pint of blood and was awaiting a second when he began convulsing and vomiting.
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His oxygen level subsequently dropped, prompting doctors to place him on supplemental oxygen and refer him to a tertiary health facility.
About an hour later, he began gasping, and medical personnel commenced cardiopulmonary resuscitation. However, efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.
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 order an independent investigation into the arrest, detention, alleged torture and death.
The group also demanded an independent autopsy involving the family to establish the cause of death and determine whether alleged physical abuse or denial of medical care contributed to it.
It called for the identification and prosecution of any officers found culpable, as well as an investigation into allegations of extortion, including a reported demand for N10m and the alleged collection of N50,000 from the estate chairman.
The movement further demanded the recovery of items allegedly seized from Adelowo’s shop and protection for the family and witnesses against intimidation.
It said criminal allegations did not justify torture or inhuman treatment and urged the police to ensure accountability.
When contacted on Sunday, the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, denied that Adelowo was tortured.
“An official statement will be issued on that tomorrow,” she said.
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