The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has demanded the prosecution of police officers implicated in the death of 32-year-old Japheth Njoku in custody at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, popularly known as Tiger Base, Owerri, Imo State.
RULAAC also called for compensation for Njoku’s family and an independent investigation into the alleged obstruction of the autopsy and intimidation of witnesses during the coroner’s inquest into his death.
The organisation made the demands on Thursday following the findings and recommendations of the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Owerri, sitting as a Coroner in the case.
The Coroner, Chief Magistrate E. U. Chinaka, reportedly found that Njoku had been detained for about six weeks over an allegation of stealing, which was a bailable offence.
The court also found that demands for money contributed to his continued detention and rejected attempts to justify his prolonged detention by portraying him as a terrorist.
According to RULAAC, the Coroner found that the terrorism allegation had been “concocted to justify prolonged detention and extortion.”
The court further found that conditions at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit violated detainees’ rights to dignity, personal liberty, legal representation and bail.
It described the system as characterised by torture, intimidation and extortion and concluded that Njoku’s prolonged detention and the inhuman conditions in which he was held contributed to the deterioration of his health and eventual death.
RULAAC said the findings vindicated the efforts of Njoku’s family, their lawyer, Dr Christian C. Nwadigo, human rights organisations and other concerned citizens who had insisted that his death in police custody should not be buried without an independent judicial inquiry.
The Coroner recommended the prosecution of Inspector Barnabas and ACP Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa for alleged extortion and corruption.
It also recommended the transfer of officers serving at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, installation and effective monitoring of CCTV cameras in police detention facilities, improved training for investigating police officers on lawful detention, payment of adequate compensation to Njoku’s family and payment of his burial expenses by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.
RULAAC said the recommendations were expected to be implemented within three months.
The organisation, however, said the conclusion of the inquest came only after months of resistance, delays and alleged attempts to frustrate the court-ordered autopsy and intimidate potential witnesses.
RULAAC recalled that on June 11, 2025, the Coroner ordered an autopsy to be conducted between June 16 and June 28 under the supervision of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Imo State Ministry of Justice.
The order also allowed an independent pathologist selected by Njoku’s family to observe the examination.
The court summoned Inspector Barnabas, ACP Oladimeji and other material witnesses and directed the Commissioner of Police to ensure compliance.
However, RULAAC said the summoned police officers and other witnesses failed to appear at the proceedings on June 11.
According to information provided by the family’s lawyer, Dr Nwadigo, the autopsy was subsequently delayed several times.
RULAAC and the People’s Rights Organisation later petitioned the Police Service Commission, alleging that police officers failed to make Njoku’s body available for scheduled autopsies, including those fixed for October 28 and October 30, 2025.
The organisation said the allegations had also received independent corroboration from Amnesty International.
“Tiger Base officials repeatedly obstructed the Coroner-ordered autopsy and failed to appear for the examination on three separate occasions despite the presence of court-appointed pathologists,” RULAAC quoted Amnesty International as stating in its 2026 report on Tiger Base.
RULAAC also alleged that some people detained alongside Njoku, who could have served as witnesses, were subjected to fresh investigations, threats of arraignment and allegations of receiving stolen goods.
It said Njoku’s family raised concerns about alleged harassment of witnesses during a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, SCID, Owerri, on August 22, 2025.
Despite this, RULAAC alleged that some of the witnesses were subsequently detained for several hours and threatened with arraignment.
“These events require investigation in their own right,” the organisation said.
“Attempts by law-enforcement officers to obstruct a judicially ordered autopsy, intimidate material witnesses or frustrate a Coroner’s inquest into a death occurring in police custody strike at the heart of the administration of justice and the rule of law.”
RULAAC demands prosecution, independent probe
RULAAC urged the Attorney-General of Imo State to act immediately on the Coroner’s recommendation for prosecution.
It said the prosecutorial review should not be limited to alleged extortion and corruption but should examine the entire record of the inquest for possible offences under the Anti-Torture Act 2017 and other applicable laws.
The group also called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Service Commission to conduct an independent investigation into the alleged attempts to frustrate the autopsy and Coroner’s proceedings.
It said the investigation should identify officers who allegedly failed to comply with court orders, impeded access to Njoku’s body, intimidated witnesses or otherwise attempted to obstruct the inquest.
The Police Service Commission, it added, should institute disciplinary proceedings against any officer found culpable.
RULAAC said the findings should not be dismissed as the misconduct of one or two police officers.
“For years, victims, families, lawyers and civil society organisations have reported allegations of prolonged detention, torture, extortion, denial of access to lawyers and relatives, disappearances and deaths in custody at Tiger Base,” the organisation said.
It noted that the Njoku inquest had subjected some of those allegations to judicial scrutiny and produced “deeply troubling findings.”
RULAAC further pointed to the Coroner’s recommendation that all officers serving in the Anti-Kidnapping Unit be transferred, citing evidence concerning overcrowding and the collection of money in connection with police bail.
The organisation therefore renewed its call for an independent institutional audit of Tiger Base.
It said the audit should cover deaths in custody and alleged disappearances over a defined period, custody and arrest registers, compliance with statutory detention limits, allegations of torture and other cruel or degrading treatment, demands for money for bail and release, access to lawyers, relatives and medical care, preservation of CCTV footage and other custody records, as well as previous complaints against officers and actions taken on them.
RULAAC said Njoku’s death demonstrated why deaths in police custody should not be investigated exclusively by the police formation implicated in the death.
“A person taken into police custody is placed under the protection and control of the State. The State therefore assumes a heightened responsibility for that person’s life, physical integrity and health,” it said.
RULAAC added: “Japheth Njoku entered Tiger Base alive. He did not leave alive.”
The organisation said Njoku’s family subsequently had to fight for months to secure an autopsy and judicial determination of how he died.
“Justice will not be complete merely because the Coroner has spoken,” RULAAC said.
It maintained that justice required prosecution where criminal responsibility was established, disciplinary accountability, compensation and reparation for the family, implementation of the Coroner’s institutional recommendations and reforms to prevent similar incidents.
RULAAC called on the Attorney-General of Imo State, the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission and the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, to publicly state the steps being taken to implement the Coroner’s recommendations within the stipulated three-month period.
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