Nigerian man dies in police custody following dispute with neighbour

In Lagos State, Nigeria, the family of Oduga Mujeed Igbayitayo, popularly known as Olá, is demanding answers after he died in police custody under unclear circumstances following his arrest over a minor misunderstanding with a female neighbor.

According to eyewitnesses, Igbayitayo, a resident of Chevron Estate, Lagos, had a minor argument with a neighbor on the morning of February 11.

Later that day, officers from the Ikota Police Station arrived at his residence and arrested the deceased.

Witnesses reported that the estate manager intervened as Igbayitayo was being escorted into a police vehicle, but officers assured him that it was a routine inquiry and that Igbayitayo would return soon.

However, by the end of the day, Igbayitayo had not returned home.

Concerned, the estate manager visited the Ikota Police Station twice, but officers denied any record of his arrest or detention.

The following morning, February 12, Igbayitayo’s heavily pregnant wife, who had been staying with her mother-in-law in Ikorodu, grew increasingly anxious after multiple failed attempts to reach her husband.

She contacted the estate manager, who informed her of the arrest. Alarmed, she reached out to Igbayitayo’s siblings, and together they rushed to the Ikota Police Station to demand answers.

Upon arrival, officers initially denied holding Igbayitayo in custody.

However, after persistent questioning, one officer admitted that he had been detained but claimed he had been transferred to the Ajah Police Station.

Igbayitayo’s sister, refusing to leave without seeing him, proceeded to the Ajah Police Station.

There, she was directed to an office where officers informed her that her brother had died and his body was at the Epe Mortuary.

“He is dead, and his body is in the mortuary,” one officer reportedly stated. Shocked and distraught, Igbayitayo’s sister refused to accompany the officers to the mortuary, demanding to know how her brother, who was taken alive, had ended up dead.

She left the station without any clarity on the circumstances surrounding his death.

The family is now demanding justice and transparency. “He was invited for questioning, and the next thing we were told was that his body was in the mortuary,” a relative stated.

“What happened to him in police custody? How did his body get to the mortuary? We have no answers.”

His family, including his pregnant wife and aged mother, is pleading for justice and accountability.

As of the time of this report, the Lagos State Police Command has yet to issue an official statement on the matter. This remains a developing story.

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