By Okechukwu Nwanguma
This is no longer a rhetorical question. It is an urgent warning.
Five years after the #EndSARS uprising, the very abuses that drove young Nigerians into the streets – arbitrary arrests, torture, prolonged detention without trial, falsified investigations, contempt for court orders, and institutional cover-ups – are not only recurring, they are being normalised again, particularly in Imo State.
The record is damning and consistent.
From wrongful parade of detainees for crimes allegedly committed while they were already in police custody, to custodial deaths followed by obstruction of court-ordered autopsies, to months-long detention of young citizens without charge, the pattern is unmistakable: impunity protected by silence, denial, and inertia at the highest levels of police oversight.
A pattern authorities can no longer deny
These are not isolated allegations. They form a long, documented trail:
– A tailor paraded as a suspect in the killing of police officers, despite evidence that he was already detained at Tiger Base days before the attack.
– Japheth Njoku tortured to death in custody, with police officers defying Coroner’s Court orders, fabricating charges against witnesses, and intimidating co-detainees to derail accountability.
– The ECOWAS Court judgment in Glory Okoli v. Nigeria, confirming Tiger Base as a site of incommunicado detention, torture, sexual abuse, and extortion, years before current controversies.
Young men arrested “in error,” brutalised with machetes, extorted for release, and threatened into silence.
A 21-year-old trainee nurse was held for over 80 days without charge, allegedly tortured, coerced, and denied access to legal counsel, in flagrant violation of Section 35 of the Constitution.
These are precisely the abuses that #EndSARS was meant to end.
Denial is not reform
Guided media tours, press denials, and shifting blame between units do not amount to accountability. They deepen public anger.
When police officers defy court orders, frustrate autopsies, and remain in service while victims’ families beg for justice, the message to citizens is chilling: the law does not apply to those in uniform.
That message is dangerous.
History shows that when lawful channels are persistently blocked, outrage spills into the streets. The #EndSARS protests did not begin as violence; they began as petitions, reports, court cases, and appeals that were ignored.
We are seeing that same trajectory again.
The cost of inaction
Authorities must understand this clearly:
Every unresolved custodial killing, every unlawful detention, every fabricated charge, and every act of institutional cover-up is an accelerant.
You cannot preach peace while practising injustice.
You cannot demand public trust while shielding rogue officers.
You cannot suppress dissent without consequences.
What must happen – now
To avert another national crisis, Nigerian authorities must act decisively:
1. Shut down Tiger Base and other facilities with proven records of systemic abuse.
2. Enforce command responsibility – not just against low-ranking officers, but commanders who permit or protect violations.
3. Ensure immediate compliance with court orders, including autopsies and release or arraignment of detainees.
4. Prosecute custodial torture and killings as crimes, not as “disciplinary issues.”
5. Strengthen independent oversight, including the Police Service Commission, Coroner’s Courts, and civil society participation.
6. Protect victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers from intimidation and retaliation.
A final warning
Nigerians are watching. Victims’ families are waiting. Young people are remembering.
The question is no longer whether another #EndSARS is possible – but whether authorities will act in time to prevent it.
Accountability is not optional. Justice delayed is protest invited.
Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma is the Executive Director of RULAAC
