Amnesty International has accused a police unit in Imo State, popularly called “Tiger Base,” of committing widespread human rights abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and extortion, according to a report released yesterday.
The unit, established to tackle kidnapping and armed robbery under the Imo State Police Command in Owerri, has allegedly deviated from its mandate. Amnesty International’s Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, said the facility has become synonymous with abuse of power and illegal enrichment.
“Those arrested are subjected to inhuman treatment, often coerced into confessions, and many are traumatized for life,” Sanusi said, highlighting the lack of accountability for the alleged violations.
The report, titled “Tiger Base of Atrocities: Human Rights Violations by Nigeria Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit Owerri,” detailed cases of detainees being beaten with iron rods, knives, and machetes, suspended by ropes, or shot inside the facility. Families were allegedly forced to pay bribes ranging from N200,000 to N20 million to secure the release of detainees.
One survivor recounted: “They told us that if we wanted to be released, our family would pay. Many people disappeared after being moved into Cell 1; nobody ever saw them again.”
The Amnesty report also cited overcrowding, with more than 70 detainees crammed into 12-feet by 12-feet cells with a single overflowing toilet, forcing prisoners to eat, sleep, and relieve themselves in the same confined space.
Former detainees described extreme neglect during medical emergencies, while others reportedly died in custody, including Okechukwu Ogbedagu in 2022, whose autopsy indicated asphyxiation, and Japhet Njoku, a security guard allegedly beaten to death in May 2025.
In response, the Imo State Police Command dismissed the allegations as “unfounded” and part of a “smear campaign by criminal elements.” Police Public Relations Officer Henry Okoye insisted that Tiger Base operates within the law and has successfully disrupted several kidnapping and armed robbery syndicates.
Meanwhile, the civic group Oganihu has petitioned Governor Hope Uzodimma to investigate and disband the unit. The group accused the unit of systematic torture, enforced disappearances, gender-based abuse, and corruption, claiming that about 200 people may have died or disappeared in custody between 2021 and 2025.
Oganihu demanded immediate intervention, public condemnation of the abuses, and the establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry to restore rule of law and public confidence in the state’s security institutions.