Barber’s Death After Weeks in Detention Sparks Fresh Questions on Unlawful Detention in Nigeria

Mr. Babajide Adelowo, a barber operating from a shop in Iba Estate, Iyana-Iba, Lagos, has, according to a report sourced from Punch Newspaper, kicked the bucket less than 24 hours after officers of the Lagos State Police Command’s X-Squad released him from custody. He had been held continuously since his arrest on 6 October 2026.

PHOTO: Adelowo Babajide Gabriel.

The deceased’s elder brother, Adelowo John Tola, and other relatives said the detention was marked by prolonged physical abuse that left him in critical condition by the time he was returned to the family.

According to Tola, officers arrested Adelowo at his workplace, accusing him of belonging to a cult group and of possessing a firearm. Relatives maintain that the arrest was carried out without a warrant and that items were taken from the shop. They further state that access to family members and legal counsel was severely restricted throughout the weeks that followed.

The family, while describing the pattern of severe mistreatment, allege that Adelowo was repeatedly suspended from a weightlifting rod with his hands and legs bound, sometimes for 30 to 40 minutes at a stretch, and that this occurred on multiple occasions. By the time of his release on 3 November, they said, he could neither walk nor feed himself without help. During detention he began vomiting blood and bleeding from the anus. Despite family efforts to secure his release and obtain medical care, the officers continued to hold him.

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A medical report prepared after he was taken to hospital on 3 November recorded complaints of bleeding, vomiting of blood, abdominal pain, general body weakness and anaemia. Approximately an hour after arrival he began gasping. Medical staff commenced cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the efforts failed. He was clinically declared dead at 9:15 p.m. on 4 November 2026.

These accounts raise immediate questions under Nigerian law. Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) protects personal liberty and requires that an arrested person be informed in writing of the grounds for arrest within 24 hours and be brought before a court within a reasonable time, ordinarily 24 hours, or 48 hours where a court is not within a short distance. Detention beyond that period without charge or a court-ordered remand is generally unlawful. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) permits limited extensions only by judicial order, typically in successive periods of 14 days, and only where the court is satisfied that continued custody is necessary. A continuous 28-day hold without any public indication of a formal charge or court appearance sits in clear tension with these rules.

The same constitutional framework also prohibits torture and inhuman treatment. Section 34 of the 1999 CFRN guarantees the dignity of the person; pre-trial detainees may not be subjected to physical abuse or degrading conditions. Where such treatment is established, the victim or the next of kin, in the event of death, is entitled under Section 35(6) to compensation and a public apology.

Meanwhile, Nigerian courts have repeatedly found that prolonged detention without charge itself constitutes a breach of liberty, irrespective of the original suspicion that led to the arrest.

At the time of writing this report, the Lagos State Police Command had not released a detailed public statement addressing the grounds for the arrest, the length of detention, or the condition in which Adelowo was released. Until then, this article will be updated.

ENB.