Human rights organizations transfer over 150 detainees from Imo State’s Tiger Base amid allegations of torture and killings.
Activists and civil society groups intensify calls for the immediate closure of the Imo State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, known as Tiger Base, following a court-ordered transfer of more than 150 detainees to Owerri Correctional Centre.
Pressure from organizations like the Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI), Amnesty International, and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) forces the move.
However, families report many individuals remain missing, fueling demands for accountability.
CAPTI’s December 2025 report documents systematic abuses at the facility between 2021 and 2025.
Investigators reveal officers torture detainees through beatings, starvation, hanging, and mock executions.
They also extort families with demands reaching ₦20 million and commit extrajudicial killings in at least 200 cases.
Moreover, the report highlights enforced disappearances, with victims like Pastor Chinedu and Reverend Cletus Nwachukwu vanishing without trace.
Female detainees face additional horrors, including sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Consequently, over 35 civil society organizations petition the Nigerian Senate earlier in 2025, accusing the unit of arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without trial, and deaths in custody.
Groups such as the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) and the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) echo these concerns, labeling Tiger Base a “torture chamber” operating with impunity.
Amnesty International announces plans to release its own detailed findings, warning that the abuses expose deep flaws in Nigeria’s security apparatus.
In response, the Imo State Police Command denies the allegations, calling them “false and malicious” smears from criminal elements.
Spokesperson Henry Okoye insists the unit dismantles kidnapping syndicates and contributes to regional peace, while establishing a Human Rights Desk for complaints.
Nevertheless, consistent testimonies from survivors, families, and independent probes — including those by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) and Sahara Reporters — paint a pattern of violations under officers like ACP Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa.
Activists launch campaigns with hashtags like #ShutdownTigerBaseOwerri and #TigerBaseMustFall, urging the Inspector-General of Police and National Human Rights Commission to intervene.
As public outrage grows, victims’ relatives demand independent autopsies, prosecutions, and reparations.
They warn that unchecked impunity risks another nationwide uprising similar to #EndSARS.
Ultimately, the Tiger Base saga underscores urgent needs for police reform, oversight of tactical units, and protection of citizens from state-sponsored abuse in Nigeria’s Southeast.
