My husband fainted four times during police torture – Widow

Mary Adelowo, widow of 46-year-old Babajide Adelowo, who died on November 3, 2026, after spending 29 days in police custody, tells Dare Akogun how her husband was arrested, allegedly tortured and released in critical condition. She recounts the family’s struggle to gain access to him, his final moments in the hospital and their demand for justice.

Can you recall the events leading to your husband’s arrest?

My husband was arrested on October 5, 2026. He was a barber and also ran a small business on the side. That day, I returned from work and was told that he was arrested in his shop by some policemen. I was surprised because I did not know why he was arrested.

I immediately went to his shop with some neighbours to find out what happened.

What reason did the police give for arresting him?

From what I gathered, they alleged that my husband kept guns for people and had firearms in his possession. They searched his shop, but the family is not aware of any incriminating items being recovered.

They took him away with some of his belongings, including his generator and chairs. They also seized his telephone and locked the shop. We have not been able to access it since then.

Which police unit arrested him?

When I started looking for him, I first went to a nearby police station, but could not get the information I needed. I later went to the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, where I learnt that he was arrested by the command’s X-Squad, led by Supol Akingboju Tosin.

Were you allowed to see him when you eventually got to the command?

Yes. I met him with another suspect whom they identified to me as Pedro. I was told that he was the person who implicated my husband in the allegation involving firearms.

My husband denied the allegation, but the policemen kept shouting at him and insisting that he should tell them the truth.

How did the officers react when you tried to defend your husband?

They shouted at me too. I told them I knew my husband and that he was not involved in what they were accusing him of. They ordered me to leave.

One of the officers threatened to detain me if I returned. I was frightened, but I could not abandon my husband. I wanted to know what he had done and why he was being held.

On the second day, the estate chairman accompanied the lawyer to meet the team leader. He explained that Babajide was known in the community as a peaceful person and was one of the estate’s security officers.

Instead of listening, the officer allegedly threatened to detain him. The chairman eventually paid N50,000 before he was allowed to leave, after being accused of harbouring criminals.

Did you subsequently have access to him?

It was very difficult. I could not see him regularly. We engaged a lawyer to help us, but he also encountered difficulties whenever he tried to visit.

The police seized my husband’s phone and did not allow him to contact his family. Throughout his detention, the lawyers were allowed to see him only about two or three times, and their access was restricted.

I was also advised not to accompany the lawyer to the police facility. Since I could not see my husband, I relied on a food vendor to deliver meals to him.

Did your husband complain about his treatment while in detention?

At some point, I was asked to bring medication for him because he was unwell. I became worried because I did not know what was happening to him inside the facility.

Later, he called me and said he was seriously ill. His voice sounded very weak, and I became frightened. I contacted my brother and the family lawyer, and we began making efforts to secure his release.

What did the police tell your lawyer when he requested his release?

The lawyer repeatedly asked them to release him, but we were told he was being held for further investigation. We continued pleading with them because we wanted him to come home.

Eventually, after 29 days, we were informed that he would be released.

How did you receive the news of his release?

We were told to meet him at the PWD bus stop, outside the police command. We expected him to be released at the station, but they directed us to meet him there. When I saw my husband, I was shocked. He could barely walk. He was pale, frail and extremely weak.

The policemen helped him into our car and told us to handle him carefully and take him straight to the hospital.

They handed us a referral note from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and a nylon bag containing drips, plaster and other medical items. I still have the bag.

They told us that the ailment was already in his body, but my husband strongly disagreed, saying he had never experienced such symptoms before. I could not believe that he was the same man who was taken away from his shop. I was devastated.

What did he tell you about what happened to him in detention?

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He told me that they tied his hands and legs to a weightlifting rod and suspended him for about 30 or 40 minutes. He said they did this three times. He also said they squeezed his hands with an instrument until his muscles and veins were affected.

My husband said he became so weak that he could neither feed himself nor attend to his personal needs. Other suspects in the cell helped him eat and bathe. He also said he fainted four times while in detention.

He said that the last time he fainted, he regained consciousness only to find himself covered in blood and had soiled himself. The other suspects in the cell raised the alarm, prompting the police to take him to hospital on Sunday, two days before his release.

My husband called me from the hospital to say he was there, but ended the call immediately, and I could not reach him again.

When I saw him after his release, he was wearing different clothes. He told me his original clothes had been soaked in blood, so the police bought him another set.

Where did you take him after his release?

We had to seek urgent medical attention. We visited several hospitals before eventually getting to Subol Hospital in Idimu, Lagos.

By then, he was critically ill. He was bleeding, vomiting blood and complaining of abdominal pain and general body weakness.

What happened at Subol Hospital?

He was admitted and treatment commenced. Samples were collected, and he was given one pint of blood. While awaiting another pint, he suddenly started convulsing and vomiting.

His condition worsened, and the hospital placed him on oxygen while arranging to refer him to a tertiary hospital. However, his condition deteriorated and he began to gasp for breath.

The doctors attempted to revive him through cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but they could not save him. He died at about 9.15pm on November 3, 2026.

What did the hospital state as the cause of death?

The medical report from Subol Hospital stated that he presented with rectal bleeding, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, generalised body weakness and fatigue.

It also recorded that he was pale, dehydrated and seriously ill, with a blood pressure reading of 88/60mmHg.

The hospital diagnosed symptomatic anaemia resulting from upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, complicated by haemorrhagic shock.

The death certificate issued on November 4 listed severe anaemic upper gastrointestinal bleeding as the primary cause of death.

The hospital report stated that he was assaulted in police custody. Who provided this information to the doctors?

The report stated that a relative alleged that he had been severely assaulted in police custody. We wanted the hospital to know what we understood had happened to him before he was brought there.

We have the medical documents and want the authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding his detention and death.

How has the family been coping with his death?

It has been very difficult. For 29 days, I worried about my husband’s safety and struggled to see him. When I eventually saw him, he was in a terrible condition.

I still find it difficult to understand how someone taken away from his business could be returned home in such a terrible state that he died shortly afterwards.

What about the things taken from his shop?

The policemen took his generator, chairs and telephone. They also locked the shop, which we have been unable to access since his arrest.

We want to know why those items were taken when, as far as we know, nothing incriminating was recovered from the shop. We also want his belongings returned.

What is the family demanding from the police authorities?

My husband was a very responsible man who took care of his family and provided for us. 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 assured him that his father would return. Unfortunately, he did not see him again until the day after he died, when he saw his corpse. It has not been easy for us.

I want justice for my husband. The police released him when he was almost dying, yet they did not call to ask about his health. Neither the lawyer nor I received a call from them to check on how he was doing.

We want the authorities to investigate what happened during his 29 days in custody. We also want to know why they denied us regular access to him and why they released him at a bus stop in such condition.

My husband is dead, and nothing can bring him back. But we want to know what happened to him. We do not want another family to go through this experience.

We have pictures and medical reports. We want a thorough investigation and for anyone found responsible to be held accountable.