A 38-year-old Lagos-based barber, Babajide Adelowo, has died just 24 hours after being released from police detention, sparking widespread outrage and allegations of fatal police brutality and extortion against operatives of the Lagos State Police Command.
Raid and unlawful detention
Adelowo was arrested at his shop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba, on October 6, 2026, by officers attached to the Commissioner of Police X-Squad over alleged possession of firearms.
According to his family, officers searched his shop, broke ceilings, and checked water tanks but found no weapons.
Despite finding no incriminating evidence, operatives seized his barbing chairs, generator, and personal belongings.
Family members further alleged that officers denied Adelowo access to legal representation and threatened his wife with arrest.
Additionally, the estate chairman who tried to intervene on his behalf was reportedly detained and forced to pay ₦50,000 for his release.
Horrific accounts of physical abuse
Adelowo was eventually handed over to his family by the roadside at the PWD bus stop on Tuesday, November 3, in a critically weak state, accompanied by a medical referral note and a bag of drips.
Before his condition rapidly deteriorated, Adelowo recounted to his wife, Mariam, how officers repeatedly suspended him from a weightlifting rod with his hands and feet tied for up to 40 minutes per session.
He revealed that he fainted four times while in custody and was left covered in his own blood and faeces after severe internal bleeding began.
Medical complications and fatal collapse
Adelowo was rushed to a hospital where medical reports confirmed he was suffering from severe gastrointestinal bleeding, severe anaemia, and hemorrhagic shock.
Despite emergency efforts, including blood transfusions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, his condition nose-dived as he vomited blood and suffered respiratory distress. He was clinically declared dead on November 5, 2026, leaving behind his wife and a young son.
Rights groups demand investigation as police deny allegations
Civil society organisations, including the Take It Back Movement, have called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Police Commissioner to launch an independent investigation, arrest the officers involved, and order a transparent autopsy.
Reacting to the allegations, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, denied that the deceased was subjected to torture, stating that an official command statement would be issued.
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