…CSOs Write National Committee Against Torture, Demanding Immediate Closure of Tiger Base Police
Juliana Francis
Nineteen civil society organisations in Nigeria (CSOs) have written a petition to the National Committee Against Torture (NCAT), demanding immediate closure of the Anti-kidnapping Unit, Imo State Police Command, otherwise known as Tiger Base Police, over systemic torture, killings, and illegal detentions.
The group also copied the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, Nigeria, signed, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
This demand is one the consistent and recurring by CSOs following an investigative series carried out by Nigerian Female Investigative Reporter, Juliana Francis, which exposed the human rights violations going on in Tiger Base Police.
The group said: “We, the undersigned Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), write to express our collective and urgent concern regarding the persistent, credible, and alarming reports of systemic human rights abuses committed by operatives of the Tiger Base Police Unit, also known as the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Imo State Police Command.”
While these investigations have travelled widely, the relevant authorities have refused to call the Unit, leading to more victims being tortured, illegal arrests, illegal detention and others killed.
One of the latest victims is Mr. Thaddeus Ikechukwu Ojokoh, who was framed by the Tiger Base Police and alleged to have committed a heinous crime, even while in police detention.
How Ojokoh left his detention facility to commit a crime outside is still a mystery to everyone.
Ojokoh, a tailor and father of five from Ahiazu Mbaise, Imo State, is another chilling illustration of the impunity associated with Tiger Base.
On April 15, 2023, Ojokoh was arrested in broad daylight by operatives of Tiger Base and held incommunicado, with no access to his family or legal counsel.
Shockingly, the Imo State Police Command later listed him, in a public statement dated April 30, as one of the suspects responsible for the killing of police officers in Ngor-Okpala, an incident that occurred on April 21, six days after Mr. Ojokoh had already been taken into custody.
The CSOs group that has been following the case of Ojokoh expressed concern: “This blatant contradiction exposed a calculated attempt to frame an innocent man, a pattern consistent with other verified accounts of arbitrary arrests and scapegoating by Tiger Base operatives. His continued secret detention placed him at high risk of torture or extrajudicial execution, a fate suffered by many arbitrarily accused of affiliation with proscribed groups.”
Following public pressure and petitions from CSOS, Ojokoh was belatedly charged in court, a face-saving manoeuvre, but the case has since stalled, perpetuating the injustice he has endured.
The group further said: “We emphasise that while attacks against police officers are unacceptable and must be punished under the law, justice must never be pursued through fabrication, scapegoating, or the violation of fundamental rights. The practice of media parading suspects without trial, often a precursor to extrajudicial killing, has no place in a democratic society governed by the rule of law.
“Numerous reports, petitions, and media investigations, corroborated by victim accounts and verified by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF France) and other human rights groups, reveal a deeply disturbing pattern of torture, unlawful detention, extortion, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings at Tiger Base.”
The group was perturbed that despite years of public outcry, the authorities at both state and federal levels have failed to take decisive action of the lawlessness going on at Tiger Base Police, thus fostering a culture of impunity and lawlessness.
“Survivors recount harrowing experiences of being detained without trial, tortured into signing confessions, forced to pay for bail (which is legally free), and, in the most tragic instances, losing loved ones in custody with no official explanation. Many detainees remain unaccounted for, with the police refusing to disclose their whereabouts to families or legal representatives,” said the group.
This, said the group, was a flagrant violation of Sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), the Anti-Torture Act of 2017, and Nigeria’s international obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Nigeria is a signatory.
The group further argued that the continued operation of this rogue unit undermines the rule of law and the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force.
“It also risks provoking a public backlash reminiscent of the #EndSARS movement, which was similarly triggered by unchecked police brutality,” it emphasised.
The group therefore demanded that, given the severity of these abuses, it call on the National Committee Against Torture (NCAT) to order or recommend the immediate shutdown of Tiger Base and disband the unit’s operatives.
It also demanded NCAT to initiate an independent, transparent public inquiry into all allegations of torture, illegal detention, extortion, and extrajudicial killings linked to the unit, ensure the prosecution of all officers found culpable of rights violations, including senior officers who failed in their duty of oversight and secure the release of all detainees held without formal charges, or ensure they are promptly arraigned in a court of competent jurisdiction.
The group also wants NCAT to facilitate appropriate compensation and public apologies for victims and families who have suffered due to the unlawful actions of Tiger Base operatives and implement and enforce comprehensive police reform measures, including strengthening existing independent oversight and accountability mechanisms to prevent future abuses.
The group opined that the courage of survivors and bereaved families who have spoken out in the face of threats and intimidation was commendable, stressing that their voices must not be ignored.
The group stated: “We, as civil society, remain resolute in our commitment to defending human dignity and the rule of law in Nigeria. We urge the National Committee Against Torture to act decisively in addressing the ongoing human rights crisis represented by Tiger Base. Continued silence or delay risks complicity and further erodes public trust in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
“We also call on the Inspector General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, and other relevant oversight bodies to collaborate with NCAT to ensure that justice is done and seen to be done.”
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