A citizen of Imo State pours out her heart on the atrocities in the Tiger Base Police Unit. I'm speaking as someone who has lived in thi...
A citizen of Imo State pours out her heart on the atrocities in the Tiger Base Police Unit.
I'm speaking as someone who has lived in this state long enough to remember when parents told their children, "If you're in trouble, go to the police." Today, many parents say the opposite. They say, "Avoid the police, especially Tiger Base."
That change did not happen by accident.
What people fear most about Tiger Base is not just arrest, but uncertainty. Once someone is taken there, families are pushed into a dark hole where nothing is clear. You don't know where your person is kept. You don't know what they are being accused of. You don't know whether they are alive. Every day becomes waiting, begging, guessing.
I know families who stood at police gates from morning till evening, hoping to see a familiar face. I know a man who slept outside the station for three nights because no one would tell him whether his brother was inside or not. I know a woman who kept cooking her son's favourite food for weeks, believing he would walk through the door. He never did.
This is not how a society survives.
Something else people are afraid to talk about is how arrests have torn communities apart. When someone is picked up, neighbours begin to suspect one another. Some stop visiting. Some stop answering calls. Fear spreads faster than truth. People whisper, "Better not associate too closely." That kind of fear breaks trust and poisons entire neighbourhoods.
There is also the problem of how people are treated after release. Those who come back are not the same. Some can't sleep. Some shake when they hear sirens. Some refuse to talk about what they saw, but their silence says enough. These are not criminals rehabilitated. These are human beings damaged.
And yet, despite all this, there has been no serious effort to sit down with affected families, no public list of detainees, no timeline of investigations. Instead, there are denials, threats, and silence. Silence that feels deliberate. What makes people angrier is that Tiger Base still operates as if nothing is wrong. Officers return to duty. Promotions happen. Life goes on inside the station while families outside are stuck in grief and confusion.
That is unacceptable.
A police unit that has lost the people's trust has already failed, no matter how many arrests it claims.
Here is what must happen now, not later:
Tiger Base must be closed immediately and permanently. A place so deeply associated with fear cannot be repaired by promises alone.
A full public register of all detainees who passed through the facility over the years must be released, including dates of arrest, transfer, release, or death.
An independent body, not the police, must investigate every complaint linked to the station, with the power to question commanders, not just junior officers.
Families of victims must receive compensation, not as charity, but as an acknowledgement of wrongdoing.
Psychological support must be provided to survivors and children affected by these arrests. Trauma does not disappear on its own.
Finally, officers found responsible must face real consequences. Not redeployment. Not retirement. Justice.
This is not about politics. It is not about groups or movements. It is about ordinary people who want to live without fear of the very system meant to protect them. A society cannot move forward while places like Tiger Base remain open. Closing it is not revenge. It is a necessary step toward healing.
We deserve better than fear."
Recommendations are clearly stated. The Tiger Base Police Unit must be shut down at the earliest.
Written by
Nwaugwu E
Edited by
Chidi Ibe
For States Media Team
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