Arrested barber on cultism allegations dies in police custody with torture marks

Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola

Arrested barber on cultism allegations dies in police custody with torture marks

On Saturday, November 18, 2023, policemen attached to the Awolowo market police station in Ogun State arrested 39-year-old Seyi Oduyiga alongside others during a raid.

Six days after this arrest, Oduyiga wound up dead and in a mortuary. The police claimed he was a cultist who went “berserk” in their custody, but a photos of the late barber seen by FIJ suggest he was tortured to death.

A relative of Oduyiga who spoke with FIJ anonymously for fear of retribution said one inspector Raji Agbaje led the investigation at Awolowo market police station,.

“On Tuesday, November 21, the police transferred Oduyiga to Eleweran headquarters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. There, ASP Akinwale took over the investigation,” said the relative.

“While in their custody, his family was making attempts to bail him, and at no point did the police tell us of any confession or statement he made. The police only said he had tattoos on his body, and that only cultists have tattoos.

“On November 23, his wife and sister wanted to visit him, but the police told them not to come as they would bring him to Sagamu where he lived to search the house. They also told the family they took him to court, but the court did not sit.

“The next day, his sister and mother-in-law visited the station with food for him, but things became strange as no one could account for his whereabouts. They waited from morning till about 3 pm when they were taken upstairs to see the Deputy Commissioner of Police. There, they told the family that he went berserk and was talking to himself and biting his cell mates. They said they took him to a hospital, and he died there.