An 85-year-old security guard, Abubakar Aliyu, has been hospitalised in critical condition following his alleged unlawful arrest and torture by police officers led by Adesoye Ezekiel on March 24, 2026. Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Godwin Ogboji, has petitioned Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu demanding a full investigation into the incident. Ogboji described the arrest as a flagrant abuse of power, stating that Aliyu was taken from a property in Lugbe 1 Extension Layout, Abuja, where he was lawfully employed as a guard. The property is currently the subject of two ongoing court cases: Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/2123/25 at the Maitama High Court and Suit No: FCT/HC/BW/CV/298/24 at the Bwari Division of the High Court.
Ogboji alleged that Aliyu was arrested without legal justification and detained under degrading conditions for several days. He said the elderly man was treated like a common criminal despite having no known criminal record. The lawyer emphasized that Aliyu suffers from advanced hypertension and other age-related illnesses, making the physical and psychological toll of detention especially severe. According to Ogboji, the actions of Ezekiel and accompanying officers directly violated Aliyu's fundamental rights, leaving him physically broken and mentally traumatized. The octogenarian is now receiving treatment in a private hospital in Abuja for multiple health complications arising from the ordeal.
Ogboji demanded that all officers involved be identified and punished, calling for an independent and transparent probe by the police leadership. He stressed that the use of state machinery to intimidate a vulnerable citizen over a civil property dispute sets a dangerous precedent. The Inspector-General of Police has not publicly responded to the petition as of the latest update.
When a police officer can allegedly abduct an 85-year-old man from a court-contested property and leave him hospitalised without consequence, it exposes not just individual cruelty but systemic rot. Ogboji's petition names Ezekiel and implicates the broader chain of command that allowed such force to be deployed against a frail guard doing his job. If the IGP fails to act, it won't be an oversight — it will be endorsement.
