A coalition of civil society organisations has accused officers of the Imo State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, popularly known as Tiger Base, of widespread human rights abuses, including at least 200 deaths in custody, systematic torture, enforced disappearances, and routine defiance of court orders.
The allegations are contained in a new investigative report released on Monday in Abuja by the Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The report covers the period between January 2021 and November 2025 and is based on interviews with detainees, victims’ families, lawyers, and human rights defenders, as well as court records and official documents.
According to CAPTI, Tiger Base has evolved from a police anti-crime unit into what it describes as a centre of unchecked brutality operating outside the law.
“Tiger Base has become synonymous with death, torture, and disappearance in Imo State,” said Sanyaolu Juwon, CAPTI’s coordinator. “What we documented is not policing — it is systematic, state-sanctioned murder operating with complete impunity.”
…Deaths in Custody and Alleged Executions
The report documents at least 200 deaths of detainees at the facility, with former detainees alleging that executions sometimes occur at night and that bodies are disposed of without notifying families. CAPTI says families are routinely denied information, while efforts to conduct independent autopsies are obstructed.
One case highlighted is that of Japhet Njoku, a 32-year-old security guard who died in custody in May 2025 after spending two months in detention over an unproven theft allegation.
Despite a coroner’s court ordering an autopsy and summoning officers to testify, CAPTI said police repeatedly ignored court directives.
“Three months after Japhet Njoku’s death, no autopsy has been conducted, no officer has been suspended, and the commander of the unit has been promoted,” Juwon said.
…Torture as ‘Standard Practice’
CAPTI alleges that torture is routinely used to extract confessions or extort money from detainees. The report describes designated “torture chambers” and methods including severe beatings, suspension from trees, starvation, and denial of medical care.
One survivor told investigators he was hung from a tree for hours and later charged with terrorism when his family could not raise ₦2 million demanded for his release.
“Eventually, when they could not make me admit to the crime, they asked my father to bring ₦2 million,” the survivor said. “My father told them to take me to court if I committed any crime.”
..Enforced Disappearances and Family Hostage-taking
The report also documents multiple cases of enforced disappearance, including that of Reverend Cletus Nwachukwu Egole, who was arrested in 2021 and has not been seen since.
His wife, Ifeyinwa Egole, said she last saw her husband at Tiger Base.
“The moment we alighted from the vehicle, I saw my husband, and that was the last time I saw him,” she said. “I don’t know whether he is alive or dead.”
CAPTI further alleges that police officers routinely arrest relatives — including women and children — when they cannot locate suspects, effectively using families as hostages.
…Defying Courts and Human Rights Bodies
According to the report, Tiger Base officers frequently ignore court orders to release detainees, grant bail, or produce suspects in court. CAPTI says even interventions by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and directives approved by the Inspector-General of Police have been disregarded.
In one case, a detainee allegedly died weeks after the NHRC documented evidence of torture and requested his transfer from the facility.
“If the National Human Rights Commission operating under presidential authority cannot protect detainees, then no oversight mechanism can function,” the report states.
…Promotion of Alleged Perpetrators
Perhaps most controversially, CAPTI alleges that officers implicated in abuses have been rewarded rather than disciplined. The report notes that the commander of Tiger Base, Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa, was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police in August 2025 and previously received a police award.
“The message is clear,” Juwon said. “Officers who torture, kill, and defy courts are not punished — they are promoted and celebrated.”
Calls for Action
Consequently, CAPTI has called on the Nigerian authorities to suspend implicated officers, conduct independent investigations into deaths at Tiger Base, account for disappeared persons, and prosecute those responsible for torture and extrajudicial killings.
The coalition also urged structural reforms, including mandatory uniforms, transparent detention records, and unrestricted access for oversight bodies.
The group said it is submitting the report to the United Nations human rights mechanisms, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights, and international diplomatic missions.
“Nigeria has ratified international treaties prohibiting torture and extrajudicial killing,” said Baba Aye, a member of the coalition. “Yet at Tiger Base, these crimes occur daily with complete impunity.”
