Again, Imo police ‘Tiger Base’ By Emeka Omeihe (Published in The Nation Newspapers Monday 2/3/26)

Again, Imo police ‘Tiger Base’

By Emeka Omeihe (Published in The Nation Newspapers Monday 2/3/26)

It is not for nothing that allegations of gross human rights violations against the anti-kidnapping unit of the Imo state police command, ‘Tiger Base’ have resonated from two fronts.

Amnesty International (AI) in an investigative report released last week titled, “Tiger Base of Atrocities: Human Rights Violations by Nigeria Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit Owerri” detailed alleged rights abuses within the facility. The report coincided with another by a civic group, Oganihu, in which it called on Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state to urgently intervene, investigate and disband the anti-kidnapping unit for alleged rights abuses.

The two developments have again brought to the fore subsisting concerns about the activities of that anti-kidnapping unit. Before now, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) and other civic groups had taken on Tiger Base for systematic human rights abuses and allied infractions.

So much dust was raised by the allegations that the state police command had to come up in stout defence. In a statement of December 3, last year, the command expressed dismay over what it called, a viral media publication alleging that its anti-kidnapping unit, ‘Tiger Base’ engaged in ”torture, organ trafficking and extra-judicial killings”

It refuted the claims as false and unfounded even as it re-stated that the unit is a legitimate tactical formation of the Nigeria police mandated to combat kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and violent crimes. The command credited the unit with successfully dismantling notorious kidnapping and armed robbery syndicates and the ensuing improved security of the state.

But the command was not unmindful of the gravity of the concerns raised by the allegations. In an apparent bid to reassure the public of their safety, the state commissioner of police was credited to have directed immediate establishment of a Human Rights Desk within the anti-kidnapping unit. How the Human Rights Desk would function within that unit and those to man it were left as matters of conjecture.

Not much was heard of the Desk thereafter even as it appeared that directive did not go beyond the very words pronouncing it. Nothing seemed to have changed for the better as the AI report spoke of detainees being routinely held in inhuman conditions, coerced into making confessions and in some case, shot or forcibly disappeared.

“Tiger Base has become synonymous with the police operating outside of the law and abusing their power to enrich themselves through extortions.

“Those arrested and detained by the unit are subjected to torture and ill-treatment, they never come out intact. Many are traumatised forever.

“Despite the horrific violations they have suffered, there has been no accountability to date” AI stated”. The report also detailed how former detainees were beaten with iron rods, and cables, cut with knives, machetes and suspended with ropes to extract confessions. Ironically, the resulting forced statements were then deployed to demand bribe before suspects could secure their freedom.

Oganihu corroborated the issues raised by AI. In its statement signed by Prof. Chijioke Uwasomba and Dr Chido Onuma, the group called for immediate and decisive intervention to restore the rule of law, safeguard the dignity of citizens and re-affirm that no unit of the state is above the law.

The group said its extensive research between 2021 and 2025 showed that Tiger Base operatives were involved in systematic torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; extra-judicial killings, deaths in custody and forced disappearances. It also cited large-scale extortion of detainees and their families, sexual violence and gender-based abuse of suspects.

These allegations are as serious as they are weighty. They are sufficient to worry any government that lays claims to the rule of law and dignity of the human person. But this is not the first time that anti-kidnapping unit has come under public scrutiny for gross rights violations.

When similar allegations against the unit arose last year, the state police command was quick to dismiss them as blackmail. Its reminder that Tiger Base is a legitimate arm of the police anti-kidnapping unit was beside the issue. Those who picked holes with the unit were not oblivious of its mandate. The way it went about that mandate is at issue.

Perhaps, to calm frayed nerves and give a venire of check against the excesses of the unit, the command muted the idea of setting up the Human Rights Desk. But no visible change seemed to have been noticed in the conduct of that unit. AI spoke extensively of its interactions with victims who shared their experiences while in the unit’s detention facilities.

It documented several alleged deaths in detention including Okechukwu Ogbedagu and Japhet Njoku, a security guard accused of theft. Oganihu also listed Japhet Njoku, Magnus Ejiogu, Ekene Francis Elemuwa, Calista Ifedi and Mmesoma Chukwunyere among those that allegedly died in detention.

That is not the end of the list. These are verifiable names and relatives of people. Their circumstances in the hands of Tiger Base should not pose any difficulty to establish in a system that holds public functionaries accountable for their misdeeds.

The seeming conspiracy of silence by the authorities in the face of these weighty allegations of rights abuses is quite puzzling. But it offends public sensibilities. More so, in a touted democratic setting where the rule of law and dignity of the human person should guide public conduct.

This mindset may have allowed the abuses in the facility to fester despite previous attempts to get the authorities to intervene and save Imo citizens from the arbitrariness of officials of the Tiger Base. The issue is not about the unit being a legitimate arm of the Imo state police command. Neither were the allegations a product of smear campaign to obstruct the unit from performing its duties, No!

It is all about holding the police unit accountable to ensure it does not operate outside the law. Tiger Base is not the only anti-kidnapping unit of the Nigerian police. All state police formations have their own variants. But nowhere in the country has that unit come under the kind of strident, intense and constant criticisms Tiger Base has been subjected to.

Yet, the authorities prefer to operate as if the allegations stand for nothing. Is there anything substantially different in the crime situation of Imo state that stands it out? If there is nothing, then there must be a reason the operations of this anti-kidnapping unit has continued to draw public ire.

There must be something in that direction where a child constantly points his fingers. We cannot continue to dismiss allegations of gross human rights abuses and wanton extortions against the unit with a wave of the hand. Neither will the credit assigned to it for dismantling kidnapping and armed robbery syndicates diminish the weighty allegations of rights abuses and infractions.

The credibility of Tiger Base has come under serious question. Imo citizens have complained bitterly against the excesses, rights violations and lack of accountability within the unit. The title of AI’s investigative report says much about the situation in that unit. No government that prioritises the safety and wellbeing of its citizens can afford to ignore the grave allegations against Tiger Base any longer.

Unless there are unseen hands benefitting and profiting from the calamity of Imo citizens, Tiger Base as presently constituted should be immediately overhauled and disbanded. It no longer enjoys the confidence of Imo people in its present form.

A new unit with fresh hands, operating within the law will offer a huge relief to the people of the state. Let Imo people breathe. Good enough, the new Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu has pledged to anchor his tenure on professionalism and accountability. These principles are under serious question by the modus operandi of the Tiger Base.

Disu also promised that the “days of impunity are over” These promises are heart-refreshing as they are at the centre of public distrust and waning confidence in the police institution. These are no doubt, daunting tasks and troubling times. But the situation is not insurmountable.

The new IGP should show the direction by ordering the immediate setting up of a commission of inquiry into the embarrassing allegations levied against Tiger Base. Those found to have compromised their positions and trampled upon the rights of the citizens should not go unpunished.

Imo citizens deserve respite from the excesses of overbearing and rogue police officers.