Widow of Bamidele Akingboye Accuses Lagos Police of Mishandling Husband’s Body and Belongings

Mrs. Christiana Akingboye, widow of the late businessman and politician Bamidele Akingboye, has accused the Lagos State Police Command of unlawfully releasing her husband’s body and mishandling his personal effects, despite the family being cleared of any wrongdoing by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

In a public appeal to President Bola Tinubu, the Senate, and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mrs. Akingboye described the police’s actions as an abuse of power, a breach of due process, and deliberate marginalisation of the deceased’s immediate family. She alleged that following the DPP’s legal advice exonerating her and her children, the police released her husband’s remains to her stepson and unidentified individuals without her consent or a court order.

She further claimed that confidential documents, including the DPP’s legal opinion, were leaked online before the family was formally informed. According to her, her late husband’s mobile phones were handed to her estranged stepson, while his medications remain unreturned despite repeated requests.

Mrs. Akingboye noted that her lawyers had formally warned the police and the morgue that neither the body nor personal effects should be released without the immediate family’s consent or a court order. A January 23 meeting at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, only resulted in the return of the family’s passports, with no resolution on outstanding issues.

Expressing concern for the safety of herself and her children, she urged the President, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions, and the IGP to order an independent investigation. She stressed that justice must prevail, insisting that power should not override due process, even in death.