A barber based in Lagos, Babajide Adelowo, has died one day after being released from police custody, where he reportedly spent 28 days following his arrest on suspicion of possessing firearms.
It was gathered that officers of the X-Squad of the Lagos State Police Command arrested Adelowo at his shop in Iba Estate, in the Iyana-Iba area of the state, on October 6, and that he was released on Tuesday, November 3.
However, the family accused the Lagos operatives of torturing him severely while he was in detention.
They alleged that the Lagos barber was hung repeatedly from a weightlifting rod with his hands and legs bound, which left him unable to walk or feed himself without help.
The family further claimed that the police arrested him without a warrant, took items from his shop, and limited his contact with his family and lawyers while he was detained.
While recounting the events leading up to the arrest, the deceased’s uncle, Samson Adelowo, said, “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, yet they found nothing.
“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 also claimed that his nephew’s wife was threatened with arrest when she tried to visit him.
He said that the estate chairman, who went with the lawyers to meet the Lagos police team, was detained and forced to pay N50,000 to secure 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.”
He stated that Adelowo’s condition worsened while he was in detention, before he was ultimately released to his family.
On Saturday, Adelowo’s wife, Mariam, told our correspondent that when the police handed her husband over to the family by the roadside, he could hardly walk and looked extremely weak.
She added that the Lagos police operatives brought him to the PWD bus stop in a vehicle and assisted him into the family’s car, then handed over a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, along with a bag of 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.
The widow said her husband began narrating his experience 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.
She added that the last incident occurred on the day he was taken to the hospital after other detainees reportedly raised the alarm.
She stated that he regained consciousness to find himself covered in blood and feces, while his clothes were 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.
The wife stated that after his release, the family took him to the hospital, where he was given a blood transfusion.
She reported that his condition worsened, and he started vomiting blood and having trouble breathing.
Samson said the family was informed that the deceased required six pints of blood and noted that they managed to get one pint before his condition declined further.
The wife further claimed that her husband told her a fellow detainee had pointed him out to the police as someone who kept firearms.
She said the detainee later apologized to her husband while in custody, saying he had been asked to identify him.
The widow, who said the couple had one child, described her late husband as a caring and responsible man who provided for the family.
She said the four weeks he spent in detention placed a huge strain on her, since she had to take on responsibilities she was not used to handling.
“My husband was a very responsible man. He took care of his family 100 percent 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.
The widow demanded justice, saying that since her husband’s release, the police had not reached out to her or the family’s lawyer to inquire about his condition.
“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 he was admitted, stated that Adelowo was brought to the facility on November 3 with complaints that included bleeding, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, general body weakness, and anemia.
According to the report, which was addressed to the Head of Pathology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, he appeared acutely ill, lethargic, pale, and dehydrated, with mild tenderness around his navel.
The hospital said it made an assessment of symptomatic anemia secondary to upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, complicated by hemorrhagic shock. ↻
It stated that he was admitted, blood samples were collected, and treatment was 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 also noted that he was subsequently declared dead on clinical grounds, and his relative was notified with appropriate compassion.
In the meantime, Adekunle Taofeek, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, has urged the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to commission an independent investigation into the arrest, detention, alleged torture, and death of Adelowo.
The group further called for the identification and prosecution of police officers attached to the CP-X Squad who may have been implicated in the alleged abuses, including unlawful detention, extortion, and denial of medical care.
It called for an independent autopsy, conducted with the family’s involvement, to establish the cause of death and to determine whether alleged physical abuse or denial of medical attention played a part in it.
The movement also demanded an investigation into the alleged demand for N10m and the collection of N50,000 from an estate chairman, along with the recovery of a generator, chairs, and other belongings allegedly taken from Gabriel’s barbing shop.
It urged the authorities to shield the deceased’s family and witnesses from intimidation while making sure the bereaved family receives justice and suitable compensation should liability be established.
The group stated that no criminal allegation could justify torture, extortion, or inhuman treatment, maintaining that suspects should be investigated and prosecuted in line with the law.
It added that the police uniform should not protect any officer from accountability, noting that Gabriel left behind a wife, young children, and elderly parents who deserved answers about his death.
When contacted on Sunday, the command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, said the deceased was not subjected to torture.
“An official statement will be issued on that tomorrow,” she added.
