The family of a Lagos-based barber, Babajide Adelowo, has cried out after a medical report reportedly linked his death to severe internal bleeding, Anemia, and Haemorrhagic shock, days after he was released from police custody following 28 days in detention.
Adelowo reportedly died a day after his release, with his family accusing police operatives of torturing him while he was being held over alleged possession of firearms.
The family said the barber was in good health before his arrest but returned home in a terrible condition, unable to walk properly or take care of himself.
Naija News understands that the operatives of the X-Squad of the Lagos State Police Command arrested Adelowo at his barbing shop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba, on October 6. He was released on Tuesday, November 3.
His relatives, however, alleged that he was repeatedly tortured during his 28 days in detention.
They claimed that the officers tied his hands and legs to a weightlifting rod and suspended him in the air, leaving him with serious injuries.
Speaking on the incident, his uncle, Samson Adelowo, told The Punch that the police arrested his nephew over allegations that he was keeping firearms.
He, however, claimed that the officers searched the shop without finding any weapon.
“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, but they could not find anything.
“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?” he asked.
The uncle further alleged that the police seized Adelowo’s phone and prevented him from contacting members of his family.
He said the family had to engage lawyers to secure his release but the officers only allowed them to see him about two or three times throughout his detention.
Samson also claimed that Adelowo’s wife was threatened with arrest when she attempted to visit her husband.
He further alleged that the chairman of the estate, who accompanied the lawyers to meet the police team, was detained and forced to pay N50,000 before he was released.
According to him, the estate chairman had gone to explain that Adelowo was a peaceful resident and one of the estate’s security officers.
However, the police allegedly threatened to detain the chairman before he parted with the money.
Wife Recounts Husband’s Ordeal
Adelowo’s wife, Mariam, said she was shocked by her husband’s condition when the police released him.
She told journalists that the officers brought him to PWD bus stop in a vehicle and helped him into the family’s car because he could barely walk.
According to her, the officers advised the family to handle him carefully and take him straight to the hospital.
She said they also handed over a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and a bag containing drips, plaster and other medical supplies.
Mariam said her husband disagreed when the officers suggested that his condition was caused by an illness he already had before his arrest.
She added that Adelowo 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.
The widow claimed that her husband fainted for the last time on the day he was taken to the hospital after other detainees raised the alarm over his condition.
She said he later regained consciousness and discovered that he was covered in blood and faeces.
Mariam added that her husband told her that his clothes had become soaked in blood, forcing the police to provide him with another set of clothes.
She said the family took him for further medical attention after his release, where he received a blood transfusion.
However, his condition reportedly worsened as he began vomiting blood and struggling to breathe.
Samson said doctors informed the family that Adelowo needed six pints of blood, but they could only provide one pint before his condition deteriorated.
The widow also alleged that her husband told her that another detainee had identified him to the police as someone who kept firearms.
According to her, the detainee later apologised to Adelowo, claiming that he had been instructed to identify him.
Family Demands Justice
Mariam described her late husband as a responsible man who took care of the family and provided for their needs.
She said his 28 days in detention placed a heavy burden on her, as she had to take up responsibilities she was not used to handling.
The widow, who said the couple had one child, recalled how their son repeatedly asked when his father would return home.
“My husband was a very responsible man. He took care of his family 100 per cent 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.
She called on the police authorities to investigate her husband’s death, accusing the officers of abandoning him after releasing him in a critical condition.
Mariam said neither she nor the family’s lawyer had received any call from the police to check on his condition after his release.
“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 added.
Medical Report
A medical report dated November 5, 2026, from the hospital where Adelowo received treatment, provided details of his condition before his death.
The report, addressed to the Head of Pathology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, stated that he was brought to the hospital on November 3 with complaints of bleeding, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, severe body weakness, and Anemia.
It described him as seriously ill, weak, pale and dehydrated, with mild tenderness around his navel.
The medical team said its assessment showed that he was suffering from symptomatic Anemia caused by bleeding in the upper and lower parts of his digestive system, complicated by Haemorrhagic shock.
According to the report, doctors admitted him, collected blood samples and commenced treatment.
It stated that Adelowo received one pint of blood and was waiting for a second pint when he suddenly began convulsing and vomiting.
Although the symptoms stopped on their own, his oxygen level later dropped, forcing the medical team to place him on oxygen support and refer him to a higher medical facility.
The report added that he started gasping for breath about an hour later, prompting doctors to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
However, efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was eventually 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 barber’s arrest, detention, alleged torture and death.
The group demanded that any police officer found to have participated in the alleged abuse be identified and prosecuted.
It also called for an independent autopsy involving the family to establish the actual cause of death and determine whether physical abuse or failure to provide proper medical attention contributed to the incident.
The movement further demanded an investigation into an alleged N10 million demand and the reported collection of ₦50,000 from the estate chairman.
It also called for the recovery of the generator, chairs and other belongings allegedly taken from Adelowo’s barbing shop.
The group urged the police to protect the deceased’s family and other witnesses from intimidation, while ensuring that the family receives justice and appropriate compensation if liability is established.
It maintained that allegations of criminal activity against a suspect do not give security operatives the right to torture or subject anyone to inhuman treatment.
The movement also insisted that police officers must be held accountable for their actions, regardless of their positions.
Meanwhile, when contacted by the media platform on Sunday, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, reportedly denied that Adelowo was tortured while in police custody.
She, however, said the command would issue an official statement on the matter.
“An official statement will be issued on that tomorrow,” she added.
