PRESS STATEMENT Contact: Sanyaolu Juwon, Coordinator, Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI) Tel: [+2349012715480] Email: ...

 

PRESS STATEMENT

Contact: Sanyaolu Juwon, Coordinator, Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI) Tel: [+2349012715480] Email: [ayowolesanyaolu@gmail.com] 

 

"TIGER BASE FILES

NEW REPORT DOCUMENTS AT LEAST 200 DEATHS, SYSTEMATIC TORTURE, AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES AT IMO STATE POLICE UNIT

Officers Promoted Despite Defying Courts, Killing Detainees After National Human Rights Commission Intervention

ABUJA, NIGERIA – The  Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI)  today released a comprehensive investigative report documenting systematic torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and brazen defiance of judicial authority at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command, commonly known as "Tiger Base."

The report, titled  "Tiger Base Files : Systematic Torture, Extrajudicial Killings, and the Collapse of Police Accountability in Imo State," documents at least 200 deaths in police custody between January 2021 and November 2025, with strong evidence suggesting many more unreported cases remain hidden within the facility's walls.

"Tiger Base has become synonymous with death, torture, and disappearance in Imo State," said Sanyaolu Juwon, Coordinator  of CAPTI. "What we documented is not policing—it is systematic state-sanctioned murder operating with complete impunity. Officers torture detainees to death, defy court orders, ignore the Inspector General of Police, and even kill people after the National Human Rights Commission intervenes. Then they get promoted and awarded."

KEY FINDINGS

Extrajudicial Killings and Deaths in Custody

The report documents at least 200 deaths at Tiger Base over a three-year period. Former detainees describe nightly executions of three to twenty persons, with bodies disposed of without family notification. Families are systematically denied information about deaths, and independent autopsies are routinely obstructed.

Case Example: Japhet Njoku, a 32-year-old security guard and father of a two-month-old baby, died in Tiger Base custody on May 5, 2025, after two months of torture over unsubstantiated theft allegations. When a Coroner's Court ordered an autopsy and directed officers to testify, they refused to appear despite three separate court directives, prevented the autopsy multiple times, and fabricated charges against witnesses. Three months after his death, no autopsy has been performed, no officers suspended, and the unit's commander was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police.

Torture as Standard Practice

NOHR documented systematic use of designated "torture chambers" within Tiger Base. Methods include severe beatings, crucifixion (suspension from trees causing permanent disability), hanging, starvation, and denial of medical care. Researchers observed scars, bruises, and dried blood on victims' bodies.

Case Example: One victim described being hanged from a tree in the Tiger Base compound for several hours. When torture failed to produce a confession, officers demanded ₦2 million from his family. Unable to pay, he was charged with terrorism and remanded in prison. When NOHR met him at Owerri prison in November 2025, he could not raise his hands or stand for extended periods—permanent injuries from police torture.

Enforced Disappearances.

Multiple documented cases show individuals arrested by Tiger Base operatives who have disappeared entirely, with families receiving no information despite persistent inquiries.

Case Example: Reverend Cletus Nwachukwu Egole was arrested with his wife and eight children in February 2021. The children were detained and tortured for seven days. His wife was held for over a year before being charged and granted bail. Reverend Egole has never been seen again. His wife testified: "The moment we alighted from the vehicle, I saw my husband, and that was the last time I saw him. I don't know if he is alive or dead." Reports indicate he was extrajudicially killed in July 2021, but authorities have never accounted for him.

Case Example: Chinonso Eluchie, a motorcycle taxi operator, was arrested on September 13, 2025, while buying fuel. He has been held incommunicado since that date. Officers initially denied having him in custody, then claimed he was a terrorist, then claimed he was supplying food to terrorists—shifting narratives that reveal fabricated charges. When his wife persisted in seeking information, ACP Oladimeji threatened to kill her husband if she continued to "make noise." No one has been allowed to see him since his arrest.

Defiance of National Human Rights Commission and Inspector General of Police

The report documents how even intervention by Nigeria's statutory human rights body operating under presidential authority cannot save detainees once Tiger Base decides to kill them.

Case Example: Magnus Ejiogu was arrested on September 23, 2025. Just four days later, the National Human Rights Commission wrote to the Inspector General of Police documenting torture and calling for his release. The IGP reportedly approved transferring the case to Abuja—a direct order from the highest police authority. Tiger Base operatives deliberately obstructed this transfer, falsely claiming they had completed investigations. On October 27, 2025—more than a month after the Commission's intervention—Magnus died in custody. Police claimed "sudden illness," but the Commission had already documented torture allegations before his death. As of November 2025, no independent autopsy has been performed, no officers suspended, and the unit's commander continues operating without consequences.

Systematic Extortion

The report documents elaborate extortion schemes where detainees and families are forced to pay substantial sums (ranging from ₦200,000 to ₦20 million) for release. Officers take detainees directly to point-of-sale operators to withdraw cash. Political vetting determines extortion amounts, with opposition party supporters facing higher demands.

Before negotiating bail with relatives, officers send the detainee's name to the government house, which forwards it to the detainee's local government and political ward to ascertain if the person is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Those without the "correct" political affiliation face higher payments or indefinite detention.

Hostage-Taking of Family Members

When intended targets cannot be found, Tiger Base officers routinely arrest and detain family members—spouses, children, parents—as hostages.

Case Example: Melody Eberechi Anyanwu, age 21, was arrested alongside her 62-year-old father in May 2021 after police failed to arrest her boyfriend. Both were tortured at Tiger Base. Her father died after five days in custody. Melody, who was four months pregnant, was beaten including officers stomping on her stomach, causing her to lose her pregnancy. She was held for six months without charge, transferred to Abuja, and imprisoned without court appearance. Officers demanded money for her release. She lost her father, her unborn child, and six months of her life, all because police could not locate her boyfriend.

Brazen Defiance of Court Orders

Multiple documented instances show Tiger Base officers refusing to comply with court orders, including orders to produce detainees, allow autopsies, or release individuals on bail.

Case Example: Obinna Orji, a 43-year-old businessman, was arrested on November 16, 2024. On June 13, 2025, the court ordered police to produce him on June 19, 2025, noting he had been detained for eight months. The distance between Tiger Base and the Imo State High Court is 900 meters. Police spokesman DSP Okoye defied the court order, claiming they needed to continue detention for investigations. When Orji's sister went to court, officers mocked her, saying: "She has spoilt the case. Something we should settle here, she carry it to court."

Criminalization of Dissent

At least eight documented cases show journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, and political critics of Imo State government being arrested and detained at Tiger Base on fabricated charges. In its 2024 Openness Index, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development declared Imo State the worst place to be a journalist in Nigeria.

Case Example: Fabian Ihekweme, former Commissioner for Foreign and International Affairs under Governor Uzodimma, became a vocal critic after being excluded from the cabinet's second term. He publicly questioned government handling of land allocation money paid by over 120,000 citizens and accused the administration of inflating road project costs from ₦58 billion to ₦125 billion. He was arrested in Abuja in November 2024 and detained at Tiger Base for 61 days, denied medical care and access to lawyers. On January 30, 2025, the court declared his arrest and detention illegal, unconstitutional, and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights.

Forced Labor

Former detainees report being compelled to perform construction and maintenance work at the facility and on officers' private properties, constituting forced labor in violation of international law.

Deliberate Anonymity to Facilitate Abuse

During a visit to Tiger Base on June 26, 2025, the National Preventive Mechanism observed that "none of the staff members wore official Police uniforms; all were dressed in mufti (plain clothes), making their identification as police officers difficult." This practice "significantly undermines accountability and transparency, as it obscures the identity of individuals responsible for actions or omissions within the unit." The refusal to wear uniforms ensures that victims cannot identify their torturers, effectively guaranteeing impunity.

THE PROMOTION OF PERPETRATORS

Perhaps most damning, the report documents that officers implicated in these violations have been promoted and honored rather than disciplined. In August 2025, amid loud protests against Tiger Base activities, police authorities promoted Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa, the commander of Tiger Base, to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police. In June 2025, police awarded him the honor of "Best Crime Buster of the Year 2024."

This pattern extends beyond Tiger Base. The report notes that Deputy Commissioner of Police Akin Fakorede, who as head of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Rivers State from 2016 to 2019 was accused of serious human rights abuses including torture and extrajudicial executions and was indicted by the Rivers State Judicial Panel on SARS, was subsequently appointed head of the IGP Monitoring Unit—one of the police units charged with investigating officers involved in human rights violations.

"The message is clear," said Sanyaolu Juwon "Officers who torture, kill, and defy courts are not punished—they are promoted and given awards. The system does not merely tolerate impunity—it celebrates and incentivizes it."

INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE AT EVERY LEVEL

The report documents systematic institutional failures that enable these violations:

•⁠  ⁠Police Service Commission: Complaints are referred back to the Nigeria Police Force for investigation, creating a closed loop of impunity

•⁠  ⁠Complaints Response Unit: When contacted about Tiger Base violations, the unit reported that the commanding officer was "too busy with the governor" to respond to investigations

•⁠  ⁠Courts: Officers brazenly defy court orders with no consequences

•⁠  ⁠National Human Rights Commission: Even when the Commission documents torture and secures IGP approval for action, Tiger Base operatives ignore directives and kill detainees

•⁠  ⁠Oversight Access: The NHRC, National Preventive Mechanism, and human rights organizations are routinely denied meaningful access to detention facilities

"If the National Human Rights Commission operating under presidential authority cannot protect Nigerians from Tiger Base, then no oversight mechanism can function within the current system," the report states.

LEGAL VIOLATIONS

The documented violations constitute breaches of:

•⁠  ⁠Nigerian Constitution (Sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 41)

•⁠  ⁠Anti-Torture Act 2017

•⁠  ⁠Police Act 2020

•⁠  ⁠International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

•⁠  ⁠Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

•⁠  ⁠African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

METHODOLOGY

The report is based on:

•⁠  ⁠Interviews with 18 current detainees at Owerri Correctional Centre who had been previously detained at Tiger Base

•⁠  ⁠Interviews with former Tiger Base detainees living in the community

•⁠  ⁠Interviews with families of victims who died in custody or remain disappeared

•⁠  ⁠Interviews with lawyers representing Tiger Base detainees

•⁠  ⁠Review of court documents, police statements, and coroner's inquest records

•⁠  ⁠Documentation from the National Preventive Mechanism's June 2025 visit

•⁠  ⁠Testimonies from human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society organizations

•⁠  ⁠Physical examination of torture survivors showing scars and permanent injuries

DEMANDS

CAPTI calls on Nigerian authorities to immediately:

 1.⁠ ⁠Suspend ACP Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa, Inspector Barnabas, Inspector Chidiebere Nwosu, and other officers directly implicated in documented violations pending investigation

 2.⁠ ⁠Initiate independent investigations into the at least 200 documented deaths at Tiger Base, including independent autopsies for recent cases

 3.⁠ ⁠Account for disappeared persons, including Reverend Cletus Egole, Chinonso Eluchie, and others who have vanished after arrest by Tiger Base operatives

 4.⁠ ⁠Prosecute officers responsible for torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and defiance of court orders

 5.⁠ ⁠Implement structural reforms at Tiger Base, including mandatory uniforms with identification, unhindered oversight access, prohibition of incommunicado detention, and transparent record-keeping of all arrests and deaths

 6.⁠ ⁠Provide reparations to victims and families of those killed, tortured, or illegally detained

 7.⁠ ⁠Ensure compliance with court orders and establish consequences for officers who defy judicial authority

 8.⁠ ⁠Reverse the promotion of ACP Adeyeyiwa and other officers implicated in human rights violations

 9.⁠ ⁠Strengthen oversight mechanisms to ensure the Police Service Commission, National Human Rights Commission, and courts can hold police accountable

10.⁠ ⁠Investigate allegations of organ and tissue trafficking and establish transparent procedures for handling bodies of deceased detainees

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY URGED TO ACT

CAPTI  is submitting the report to:

•⁠  ⁠UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

•⁠  ⁠UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

•⁠  ⁠UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

•⁠  ⁠African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

•⁠  ⁠ECOWAS Court of Justice

•⁠  ⁠International diplomatic missions in Nigeria

"Nigeria has ratified international treaties prohibiting torture and extrajudicial killing," said Baba Aye "Yet at Tiger Base, these crimes occur daily with complete impunity. The international community must demand that Nigeria honors its commitments."

A PATTERN ACROSS NIGERIA

While this report focuses on Tiger Base in Imo State, CATI notes that similar patterns of abuse have been documented at other police anti-crime units across Nigeria, including the Intelligence Response Team headquarters in Abuja. The report contextualizes Tiger Base within Nigeria's broader crisis of police accountability following the 2020 EndSARS protests.

"Tiger Base is not an aberration—it is the logical endpoint of a system designed to ensure police impunity," the report concludes. "When officers who commit the most egregious violations are promoted and honored, when courts are defied without consequence, when even the National Human Rights Commission cannot save detainees, then the message is clear: there are no limits to what police can do, and no accountability for what they have done."

VICTIMS' VOICES

The report centers the voices of victims and families:

•⁠  ⁠Mrs. Ifeyinwa Egole, whose husband Reverend Cletus Egole disappeared in 2021: "I don't know the whereabouts of my husband. I have not heard from him! I don't know whether he is alive or dead!"

•⁠  ⁠The family of Japhet Njoku, who died in May 2025: "His two-month-old baby will grow up never knowing his father, carrying only the knowledge that the Nigerian state killed him and then refused to answer for it."

•⁠  ⁠A survivor of crucifixion torture: "Eventually when they could not make me admit to the crime, they called my father and asked him to bring ₦2 million for my bail. My father told them that they should take me to court if I committed the crime they accused me of."

•⁠  ⁠An Imo State-based journalist: "The truth is, if you don't settle them, they will tell you they will kill you and nothing will happen. And truly, when they kill you, nothing will happen. They will tag you an IPOB or ESN member, place guns around you and say you exchanged gunfire with them. That's how brutish life in Imo State is."

ABOUT CAPTI 

The  Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CATI) is a coalition of civil society organizations working to promote police accountability, protect human rights, and support victims of police abuse  in Imo state. CATI  conducts  Advocacy, research, documentation, advocacy, and litigation to hold police accountable and advance systemic reforms.

REPORT AVAILABILITY

The full report is available upon request from CAPTI

MEDIA NOTE:  Lawyers and representatives of victims and  their families are available for interview.. CAPTI representatives available for interviews in English and local languages.

PRESS CONFERENCE

A press conference/ launch  will be held on Monday 15 December 2025 at Social Action 20 Yalinga street, Wuse2 Abuja Victims' families, lawyers, and civil society partners will be present to answer questions and share testimonies.

 

-END-

Media Contact: [Sanyaolu juwon], Coordinator, Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI Tel: [+2349012715480] Email: [ayowolesanyaolu@gmail.com] 

For Interview Requests: [Sanyaolu Juwon [+2349012715480]

 

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Key Statistics:

•⁠  ⁠At least 200 documented deaths in custody (January 2022 - November 2025)

•⁠  ⁠Former detainees describe nightly executions of 3-20 persons

•⁠  ⁠18 current detainees interviewed at Owerri Correctional Centre

•⁠  ⁠8 documented cases of journalists, activists, and critics detained

•⁠  ⁠Extortion demands range from ₦200,000 to ₦20 million

•⁠  ⁠Multiple documented cases of enforced disappearances

•⁠  ⁠Systematic defiance of court orders with zero consequences

•⁠  ⁠Commander promoted in August 2025 despite documented violations under his command

Timeline of Key Cases:

•⁠  ⁠February 2021: Reverend Cletus Egole arrested and disappeared

•⁠  ⁠May 2021: Melody Anyanwu and her father arrested; father dies after 5 days

•⁠  ⁠April 2023: Thaddeus Ojokoh arrested and accused of murders committed while he was in police custody

•⁠  ⁠November 2024: Fabian Ihekweme arrested and detained for 61 days

•⁠  ⁠May 2025: Japhet Njoku dies in custody; court orders defied

•⁠  ⁠September 2025: Chinonso Eluchie arrested while buying fuel; held incommunicado

•⁠  ⁠September-October 2025: Magnus Ejiogu dies despite NHRC intervention and IGP directive

•⁠  ⁠August 2025: Tiger Base commander promoted to ACP

Imo State Context:

•⁠  ⁠Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development declared Imo State worst place to be a journalist in Nigeria (2024 Openness Index)

•⁠  ⁠Tiger Base created by Imo State  police command as Anti-Kidnapping Unit and supported/funded by the Imo state government 

•⁠  ⁠Officers routinely patrol in plain clothes without identification

•⁠  ⁠Tiger base operative regularly threaten victims and relatives with execution and tagging them IPOB members 

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