A Lagos barber, Babajide Adelowo, has died barely 24 hours after regaining his freedom from police custody, where he allegedly spent 28 days suffering severe torture over an accusation of illegal 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.
But his family has accused the police officers of subjecting him to brutal treatment during his detention, allegedly leaving him so physically damaged that he could neither walk nor feed himself when he was released.
His relatives claimed that officers repeatedly tied his hands and legs to a weightlifting rod and suspended him in the air for several minutes as part of the alleged torture.
They also accused the operatives of arresting him without a warrant, seizing his personal belongings and preventing him from having regular access to his family and legal representatives.
Narrating the incident, his uncle, Samson Adelowo, said the police arrested the barber over an allegation that he possessed firearms but allegedly recovered nothing after searching his shop.
According to him, the operatives broke through the shop’s ceiling and searched its water tank but found no firearms.
He questioned why the officers also removed a generator, chairs and other business equipment from the premises.
Samson further alleged that the police confiscated his nephew’s telephone, making it impossible for him to communicate with his family.
Even the lawyers engaged to secure his release allegedly had difficulty accessing him, with the uncle claiming they were permitted to see him only two or three times during the 28-day detention.
He also alleged that Adelowo’s wife was threatened with arrest when she attempted to visit her husband.
The uncle claimed that the estate chairman, who accompanied the lawyers to meet the police team, was equally detained and forced to pay N50,000 before he was released.
He said the chairman had gone to explain that Adelowo was a peaceful resident who also served as one of the estate’s security officers.
However, the police team allegedly threatened to detain him, forcing him to pay the money to regain his freedom.
Adelowo’s wife, Mariam, said the condition in which her husband was released left the family devastated.
She recalled that police officers brought him to PWD bus stop and practically carried him into the family’s vehicle because he could barely walk.
The officers also handed over a medical referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and a bag containing drips, plaster and other medical supplies.
Mariam said her husband was extremely pale and weak, adding that he immediately disputed the suggestion that he was suffering from an illness that predated his arrest.
During their journey to the hospital, the barber reportedly began recounting the alleged physical abuse he endured in detention.
According to his wife, he said officers tied his hands and legs to a weightlifting rod and suspended him for between 30 and 40 minutes on three separate occasions.
He also allegedly told her that his hands were squeezed with an instrument, causing severe damage to his muscles and veins.
The widow said her husband became so helpless that other detainees had to feed him and assist him with bathing and other personal needs.
He reportedly told her that he collapsed four times while in custody.
Mariam further alleged that during his final collapse, he regained consciousness to discover that he was covered in blood and faeces.
She said other detainees raised the alarm before the police eventually took him to hospital on November 1, two days before his release.
The barber managed to call his wife from the hospital but ended the conversation abruptly, after which she could no longer reach him.
When he was eventually handed over to the family, she noticed that he was wearing clothes different from those he had on before his detention.
He allegedly explained that his original clothes had been soaked in blood, forcing the police to provide him with another set.
The family subsequently took him for further medical attention, where he received a blood transfusion.
But his condition continued to deteriorate, with the barber reportedly vomiting blood and experiencing serious breathing difficulties.
His uncle said doctors informed the family that he needed six pints of blood, but they could only secure one before his condition became critical.
A medical report issued on November 5, 2026, provided further details of his final hours.
The report, addressed to the Head of Pathology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, stated that Adelowo was admitted on November 3 with bleeding, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, severe body weakness and anaemia.
Medical personnel described him as acutely ill, lethargic, pale and dehydrated.
The hospital diagnosed symptomatic anaemia resulting from upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, complicated by haemorrhagic shock.
According to the report, he received one pint of blood and was awaiting another when he suddenly began convulsing and vomiting.
Although the symptoms initially subsided, his oxygen level later dropped, prompting doctors to administer supplemental oxygen and arrange his transfer to a tertiary health facility.
About an hour later, he began gasping for breath, forcing medical personnel to commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
All attempts to revive him, however, proved unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Adekunle Taofeek, has called for an independent probe into the circumstances surrounding the barber’s arrest, detention, alleged torture and death.
The group urged the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to investigate the officers attached to the CP-X Squad and prosecute anyone found culpable.
It also demanded an independent autopsy involving the deceased’s family to establish the actual cause of death and determine whether physical abuse or failure to provide timely medical attention contributed to the tragedy.
The movement further called for an investigation into allegations that the police demanded N10m and collected N50,000 from the estate chairman.
It also wants the generator, chairs and other belongings allegedly removed from the barber’s shop recovered.
The group called on the authorities to protect the widow, other family members and witnesses against possible intimidation, while ensuring that the family receives justice and appropriate compensation if wrongdoing is established.
It maintained that an allegation of firearm possession does not give law enforcement officers the right to torture suspects, extort money or subject them to degrading treatment.
Adelowo left behind his wife and their young child, whose repeated questions about his father’s return reportedly ended in the heartbreaking sight of his father’s corpse.
His widow is now demanding answers over how a man who entered police custody alive ended up being released in such a critical condition, only to die the following day.
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