Mrs Christiana Akingboye, widow of late entrepreneur and politician, Bamidele Akingboye, has raised the alarm over alleged illegal release of her husband’s corpse by the Lagos State Police Command.
She also described it as gross mishandling of vital evidence, despite her family’s exoneration by the state Director of Public Prosecutions.
Addressing journalists at the weekend while making passionate appeals to President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, and the Inspector-General of Police, Akingboye claimed that police conducts following her spouse’s passing constituted power abuse, violation of established procedures, and systematic sidelining of the deceased’s nuclear family.
She maintained that the DPP’s counsel, released upon conclusion of investigations, absolved her and her offspring, thereby terminating any legitimate police interference in the circumstances.
“The moment the DPP exonerated my children and I, there existed no criminal basis for continued police meddling,” she stated.
The widow equally alleged that classified investigation files, including the DPP’s recommendations, found their way to the internet and were disseminated by a blogger operating from abroad before law enforcement authorities officially intimated her family of the probe’s outcome.
“Till this moment, the police have not formally notified us of the investigation’s conclusion. We stumbled on it on the internet,” she disclosed.
Mrs Akingboye further accused security operatives of improper handling of her late spouse’s belongings. She revealed that policemen took custody of his mobile devices and prescription drugs as exhibits but subsequently handed over the telephones to her estranged stepson.
“The mobile devices went to my estranged stepson, whilst the drugs seized from me remain unaccounted for,” she lamented.
She noted that repeated official requests by her legal representatives for the return of the departed’s personal items were rebuffed, sparking fears about procedural violations and compromise of evidence custody chain.
The widow said her solicitors had dispatched formal correspondence to both the police and mortuary authorities, insisting that her husband’s remains and belongings must not be released to any party without approval from the immediate family or a competent court directive.
Notwithstanding, she said personnel at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, summoned both sides to a parley on January 23, 2026.
“During that session, the sole matter resolved was the retrieval of our international passports. The police gave assurances that another sitting would hold the subsequent week to settle outstanding matters,” she recounted, noting that no such meeting materialised.
“Up till now, nobody has reached out to us,” she added.
Subsequently, Mrs Akingboye said the family discovered through alternative channels that her husband’s body had been surreptitiously handed over to her estranged stepson and unidentified individuals—without prior notification, without her approval, and absent any judicial pronouncement.
She said the telecommunication devices and medications earlier collected from her equally remain unreturned.
Referencing the Coroner’s System Law of Lagos State, the widow argued that police mandate is purely investigative and terminates following autopsy and issuance of DPP’s legal position.
“Following our vindication, the police possessed no lawful powers to transfer my husband’s corpse to external parties,” she insisted.
She alleged discriminatory treatment, claiming that whilst her estranged stepson enjoyed preferential consideration, she and her children were intentionally excluded from developments.
“Multiple petitions were forwarded to the Inspector-General of Police, yet nothing was executed to halt these infractions or enforce accountability,” she charged.
Voicing apprehension for her personal security and that of her offspring, Mrs Akingboye appealed to President Tinubu, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions, and the IGP to commission an impartial probe into the allegations.
“Nigeria must not permit influence to triumph over justice, even in mortality,” she declared.