December 27, 2025 | SUNTV Global Channel | News
A human rights coalition has accused the Nigerian Police Force of launching a retaliatory crackdown in Imo State following the #TigerBaseMustFall campaign, alleging that dozens of people were hurriedly arrested and remanded in a bid to conceal years of alleged abuses at the controversial Tiger Base police facility in Owerri.
The Coalition Against Tigerbase Police Impunity (CAPTI) made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday, December 27, 2025, claiming that at least 41 persons were remanded at the Owerri Correctional Centre between December 10 and December 23—barely weeks after the coalition released a damning report accusing Tiger Base of torture, illegal detention and at least 200 deaths in custody.
According to CAPTI, instead of addressing the allegations raised in the report, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command, popularly known as Tiger Base, responded with what it described as “escalation, retaliation and cover-up.”
“This is retaliation masquerading as law enforcement,” said CAPTI Coordinator, Juwon Sanya-Olu.
“Within days of our report launch, Tiger Base suddenly rushed dozens of detainees through magistrate courts. This is not justice; it is a performance designed to hide atrocities.”
CAPTI detailed that 19 people were remanded on December 10, 17 on December 16, four on December 18, and one on December 23, bringing the total to 41 persons in just 14 days. The organisation said the spike in court arraignments coincided directly with increased scrutiny following the campaign launch and international media attention.
“For years, people were held at Tiger Base for months or even years without charge,” Sanya-Olu said. “Now, under pressure, they are suddenly parading detainees before courts. The timing is not coincidental.”
The coalition described as “particularly alarming” the arraignment of seven women on December 16, 2025—just one day after the release of the campaign report—despite claims that the women had been detained for periods ranging from one to two years without trial.
According to CAPTI, the women were charged under sections of the Criminal Code relating to terrorism, allegedly based solely on their relationships with men accused of being members of IPOB or the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Their cases were adjourned to January 15, 2026, at Magistrate Courts 1 and 10 in Owerri.
CAPTI alleged that the arrests reflected a pattern of “collective punishment,” where wives, mothers and children were detained as leverage against male relatives accused of crimes.
Among the cases cited was that of Nkechinyere Ogu, who was allegedly detained in October 2023 after visiting Tiger Base to secure bail for relatives. CAPTI claimed she remained in custody for over 26 months without trial, despite paying ₦950,000 for her release.
Another case involved Chinenye Obi, who was reportedly arrested with her one-year-old son over allegations against her husband. CAPTI alleged that she was tortured in detention and that her child was taken to an unknown location, with no information about his whereabouts for more than two years.
The coalition also cited the case of Onyebuchi Anyanwu, arrested with her three young children, and Chinaza Ifeanyi, who was detained with her two-month-old infant in November 2024. CAPTI alleged that several children taken from their mothers during these arrests remain missing to date.
“The separation of infants and young children from their mothers, with no information about their welfare, amounts to enforced disappearance of minors,” Sanya-Olu said.
CAPTI further alleged that detainees were routinely hidden whenever lawyers, journalists or human rights monitors visited the facility, a practice it said explained why official monitoring visits often reported seeing only a few detainees.
Describing the recent court appearances as “legal theatre,” CAPTI insisted that the women “should never have been arrested in the first place.”
“You cannot legalise kidnapping retroactively,” Sanya-Olu said.
The coalition expressed concern that despite multiple petitions, international reports and calls for accountability, officers implicated in the allegations—including the commander of Tiger Base, ACP Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa—remain in active service.
“Tiger Base’s response to this campaign only reinforces our findings,” CAPTI said. “This is not a police unit operating within the law. It is a system of abuse operating under state authority, and it must be shut down.”
Efforts to obtain a response from the Imo State Police Command were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
