Lagos barber dies after police detention; family alleges torture, police deny claim
Relatives want an independent investigation into his treatment and death. Police have denied torture, while the medical and post-mortem evidence requires further verification.
The family of Lagos barber Babajide Adelowo is demanding an independent investigation into his death after about four weeks in police detention, alleging that officers tortured him before releasing him in a critical condition.
The Lagos State Police Command has denied the torture allegation. Its spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, told PUNCH on Sunday that the command would issue an official statement.
Adelowo was reportedly arrested on October 6 and released on November 3. The Foundation for Investigative Journalism, which identifies him as Adelowo Babajide Gabriel, reports that he died on November 4. His full name remains to be confirmed from family documentation.
Wife describes condition at release
His wife, Mariam, told PUNCH that he appeared extremely weak and could barely walk when police handed him over to relatives. She said officers helped him into the family’s vehicle and provided a hospital referral note and medical supplies.
His elder brother, Adelowo John Tola, separately told FIJ that officers attached to the command’s X-Squad arrested him at his barbershop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba, over allegations involving cult membership and possession of a firearm.
Tola alleged that his brother was assaulted during detention and that repeated family efforts to secure his release were unsuccessful. These allegations have not been independently verified by IDNN.
Reported medical findings do not settle cause
According to PUNCH’s account of a hospital report dated November 5, Adelowo was admitted with bleeding, weakness and abdominal pain. The reported assessment identified anaemia associated with digestive-tract bleeding, complicated by haemorrhagic shock—a life-threatening condition involving severe blood loss.
Those findings do not, on their own, establish what caused the bleeding or whether alleged abuse contributed to his death.
Tola told FIJ that his brother had an ulcer condition and alleged that medication supplied during detention was withheld. IDNN has not authenticated the clinical records or independently established how any pre-existing condition, treatment or alleged assault affected the outcome.
Post-mortem position remains unclear
FIJ reported Tola saying that a post-mortem examination had been conducted. PUNCH separately reported a demand by the Take It Back Movement for an independent autopsy involving the family.
The available accounts do not establish whether those references concern the same examination. No final post-mortem findings have been independently authenticated by IDNN.
The police denial reported by PUNCH remains the latest substantive command response located during checks on November 9. Those checks did not independently establish whether a formal investigation had begun.
Tola has called for an independent inquiry into his brother’s arrest, detention, treatment and death.