200 Alleged Deaths: Group petitions Uzodimma, demands shutdown of Imo police anti-kidnapping unit ‘Tiger Base’

A civil society organisation, OGANIHU, has petitioned the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, demanding the immediate disbandment of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command, popularly known as “Tiger Base,” over allegations of torture, sexual violence and as many as 200 deaths and disappearances between 2021 and 2025.

The petition humanises a statistics-heavy crisis by naming the faces behind the vanished. Among them are Japhet Njoku, Magnus Ejiogu, and Reverend Cletus Nwachukwu, men whose families have been left in a vacuum of silence.

The most harrowing account involves the late Mr Linus Onyewuchi Anyanwu and his daughter, Melody.

According to the document, Melody was four months pregnant when she was arrested alongside her father in May 2021.

The petition alleges she was beaten so severely by officers that she lost her pregnancy. Her father never made it out alive; he died in detention.

“Tiger Base has become emblematic of a deeper crisis in policing accountability,” the petition states. “The experience of #EndSARS demonstrates the grave consequences of allowing abusive police units to operate without oversight.”

The report highlights a disturbing trend of sexual and gender-based violence. Female detainees are allegedly subjected to forced domestic labour for police officers, while female relatives attempting to bail out loved ones have reportedly faced sexual coercion and attempted rape.

The group pointed to the case of Gloria Okolie, who was detained for months and allegedly compelled to perform domestic chores for officers.

Her case eventually reached the ECOWAS Court of Justice, which ruled her detention was “unlawful and degrading,” awarding her compensation.

Despite this international judicial rebuke, OGANIHU argues that the systemic weaknesses at Tiger Base persist, with the unit continuing to operate with impunity.

Beyond the physical abuse, the petition describes a sophisticated extortion racket where Tiger Base appears to operate outside constitutional safeguards.

OGANIHU mentioned that families are forced to pay between ₦200,000 and ₦20 million to secure the release of detainees, often in matters that are essentially civil disputes rather than criminal cases.

“The problem is not the absence of law, but the failure of enforcement,” said signatories Prof. Chijioke Uwasomba and Chido Onumah, PhD.

They noted that even the National Preventive Mechanism was allegedly blocked from inspecting the facility as recently as June 2025, further deepening public distrust in the police command.

OGANIHU has issued a 14-day ultimatum for the State Government to respond, placing seven key demands on Governor Uzodimma’s desk.

The group is calling for the immediate disbandment of the unit and the establishment of an independent, time-bound judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the mounting allegations of deaths and disappearances.

Further demands include the suspension and diligent prosecution of implicated officers, a forensic audit of detention and morgue records, and the provision of reparations and witness protection for survivors.

“These chilling reports are reportedly happening in the State under your watch,” the petition reminds the Governor, warning that continued inaction risks