A commercial motorcyclist identified simply as Ganiyu has reportedly died after being tortured in police custody at the Ago-Iwoye Police Division, Ogun State.

It was gathered that the victim, an indigene of Oke-Ogun in Oyo State, was arrested on Saturday after armed robbers attacked some residents who had earlier sent him on an errand.

Community sources alleged that suspicion fell on Ganiyu because he had left to buy petrol for the residents shortly before the robbery. On his return, he was accused of being complicit and handed over to the police.

Instead of investigating, the officers allegedly subjected him to severe beatings. “They tied him up, beat him with batons, and slashed him with machetes until his body couldn’t take it anymore,” former Olabisi Onabanjo University Students’ Union leader, Oluwabunmi Awoyemi, wrote on X.com on Sunday.

According to Awoyemi, Ganiyu was rushed to the Love and Care Hospital, where he was confirmed dead. His remains were later deposited at the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital mortuary.

Members of the local motorcycle riders’ association corroborated the incident. One of them, identified as Temitope, said two riders were detained, but only Ganiyu died in custody. He added that the Divisional Police Officer was not present at the station when the torture allegedly took place.

“Before things escalated, he was supposed to be granted bail that night, but it never happened. He had been beaten since the afternoon, and by the next day, he was gone,” Temitope said.

He further explained that the arrest was prompted by a customer who accused Ganiyu of aiding the robbery after being unable to reach him on the phone. “The customer insisted on taking him to the station, and he went willingly. That was how he ended up in custody,” he added.

Confirming the development, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Omolola Odutola, said the command had opened an investigation into the case.

“I am investigating what really happened,” Odutola stated on Sunday.

The case has reportedly been escalated to the state police headquarters in Abeokuta, where both the officers on duty and the families involved have been summoned.

The incident adds to a growing list of alleged cases of torture and custodial deaths involving police officers. In a similar case in Kwara State, a man allegedly died in custody after being beaten by officers over a debt dispute.