After Abuse Allegations, Nigeria Police Unit Tiger Base Sends Dozens to Prison as Scrutiny Intensifies
Rights group says 41 people were remanded in two weeks from Imo State’s Tiger Base following an advocacy campaign, alleging retaliation, long-term illegal detention, missing children, and extrajudicial killings.
Imo State, Nigeria – December 28, 2025
“Tiger Base Responds To #TIGERBASEMUSTFALL Campaign With Mass Arrests: 41 People Remanded in Two Weeks” is the headline of a shocking report released by the Coalition Against TigerBase Police Impunity (CAPTI).
According to the report, “n “less than two weeks after the launch of the #TigerBaseMustFall campaign and the release of CAPTI’s comprehensive report documenting at least 200 deaths in Tiger Base custody, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command has responded not with accountability but with escalation and cover-up, remanding at least 41 people in Owerri Correctional Centre between December 10 and December 23, 2025.”
Juwon Sanyolu, Coordinator CAPTI says the sudden surge in court appearances represents retaliation and an attempt to give the appearance of due process under mounting public and international scrutiny.
“Within days of our report launch on December 15, Tiger Base dramatically tries to cover up it atrocities by decongesting its terror cells. The message is clear: demand accountability, and they will demonstrate exactly why accountability is needed.”
According to CAPTI records reviewed by this report, nineteen detainees were remanded on December 10, seventeen more on December 16, four on December 18 and one on December 23, totaling 41 people remanded in 14 days.
The group says “The timing is not coincidental,” the pace of remands contrasts sharply with previous years, when detainees were allegedly held for months or years without charge.
According to Sayaolu “For years, Tiger Base held people for months or years without charging them. Suddenly, within days of our campaign launching, they are rushing dozens of people through magistrate courts. This is not the rule of law, this is a performance designed to create the appearance of legal process while continuing systematic abuse.”
Among those hurriedly arraigned on December 16 were seven women who CAPTI says had been detained at Tiger Base for between one and two years without trial.
The women were charged under sections of Nigeria’s Criminal Code related to terrorism and remanded to Owerri Correctional Centre, with their cases adjourned until January 15, 2026.
CAPTI states that the women were arrested not for their own actions but because of accusations against male relatives alleged to have links to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a peaceful mass movement seeking for a United Nations supervised referendum.
Nigerian law does not recognise guilt by association, and the police have not publicly presented evidence tying the women to violent acts.
“Their cases expose the cynical manipulation of the justice system and the practice of holding family members hostage for alleged crimes of male relatives.”
Several of the women were unlawfully detained alongside their children, CAPTI says.
Three of the women arraigned on December 16 had been held since October 2023, spending more than two years in detention without trial.
One of them, Nkechinyere Ogu, was unlawfully detained on October 11, 2023 after voluntarily visiting Tiger Base to negotiate the release of her sister-in-law (Chinenye Obi) and stepmother (Jacinta Ogu) who were unlawfully held.
CAPTI says she paid ₦950,000 for her own release but was not freed and has remained in custody for approximately 26 months.
Another detainee, Chinenye Obi, was arrested in October 2023 alongside her one-year-nine-month-old son over allegations against her husband. CAPTI alleges she was beaten and tortured, suffering visible bleeding from her nose.
Her child was taken from her to an undisclosed location, and she has received no information about his whereabouts for more than two years.
Onyebuchi Anyanwu was also arrested in October 2023 with her three children, aged eight, five and three, over accusations against her husband.
CAPTI says she was briefly released due to deteriorating health, rearrested shortly afterwards, and paid ₦500,000 for release without success. Her three children were taken away during detention and have remained unaccounted for since.
Four other women had been detained since 2024, according to CAPTI. Chinaza Ifeanyi was arrested on November 12, 2024, with her two-month-old son whose whereabouts remains unknown, and several relatives. The unlawful arrest was made by officers led by Inspector Chidiebere Nwosu.
CAPTI reported that her husband, Ifeanyi Anayo, and two other men arrested at the same time were killed in custody on February 26, 2025.
A pregnant woman and two children arrested alongside them remain missing, the group says.
Onyemuwa Chidera was arrested in November 2024 after her husband was also accused of terrorism-related offences; CAPTI says a lawyer who attempted to negotiate her bail was himself detained.
Munachi Ifeanyi, the widow of Ifeanyi Anayo, was also arrested in November 2024 over allegations linked to her husband’s alleged affiliation with IPOB or ESN.
Ngozi Ogbonna was arrested in October 2024. All these women were held without trial until the mentioned rushed arraignment in December 2025.
Five children, including infants and toddlers, were taken from their mothers to unknown locations during arrests in 2023 and 2024 and have not been accounted for since.
CAPTI describes the children’s disappearance as enforced disappearance of minors and says families have received no information about their whereabouts or welfare.
“Despite over a year (and in some cases over two years) in detention, the mothers have received no information about their children’s whereabouts, welfare, or even whether they are alive.”
The names of the missing children are listed as “Chiemerie Obi: One year and nine months old when arrested with his mother Chinenye Obi in October 2023. Missing for over 2 years.”
“Peculiar Anyanwu: Eight years old when arrested with her mother Onyebuchi Anyanwu in October 2023. Missing for over 2 years.”
“Ihuoma Anyanwu: Five years old when arrested with her mother Onyebuchi Anyanwu in October 2023. Missing for over 2 years.”
“Onyinyechi Anyanwu: Three years old when arrested with her mother Onyebuchi Anyanwu in October 2023. Missing for over 2 years.”
“Chidiuto Paul Ifeanyi: Two months old when arrested with his mother Chinaza Ifeanyi in November 2024. Missing for over 1 year.
The group also accuses the police of previously undocumented killings. According to CAPTI, three men arrested in November 2024 were killed by Tiger Base officers on February 26, 2025. They are Ifeanyi Anayo, Kingsley Sunday, Chibuikem Maduka.
A pregnant woman Mmesoma Faith and two children namely Zikora Chimezie and Ihechi Ifeanyi, arrested at the same time are still missing, the group says.
“The fate of the pregnant woman and the two children is unknown. They have not been produced in court, their families have received no information, and Tiger Base has not accounted for them.”
CAPTI’s findings describe a broader pattern in which family members of wanted suspects are unlawfully detained to exert pressure, a practice human rights lawyers refer to as collective punishment.
“when Tiger Base cannot find or wants to pressure men accused of crimes, officers arrest and indefinitely detain their wives, mothers, sisters, and children.”
In interviews cited by CAPTI, detainees reported of torture, extortion and the systematic hiding of long-term prisoners during oversight visits by monitoring bodies.
“Jacinta Ogu, was beaten and tortured by Inspector Chidi Igwe until “she started seeing her menstruation all over again” (suggesting torture causing vaginal bleeding in an elderly woman)”
“each time human rights [monitors] and lawyers and journalists came around the cell, officers would hide them away and threaten them not to attract any attention. And they would be returned to the cell when the visitors left.”
“These women should never have been arrested in the first place,” said Sanyaolu “They were taken as hostages for men accused of crimes. They have been tortured, extorted, had their children taken from them, and held for years without trial.”
Despite the testimonies, the police officers named by CAPTI remain in service.
The unit’s commander, ACP Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa, was promoted in August 2025, according to CAPTI, while investigators accused of torture and killings continue to handle cases.
“Inspector Chidiebere Nwosu and Inspector Chikadibia Okebata (Kill and Bury), named in multiple cases of torture and extrajudicial killing, continues serving as Investigating Police Officers.”
The Nigeria Police Force has not publicly responded to the specific allegations contained in CAPTI’s statement.
CAPTI says it has submitted its documentation to multiple United Nations special rapporteurs, regional human rights bodies and the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
It is calling for an independent investigation, the suspension of implicated officers, disclosure of the whereabouts of missing children and unrestricted access for monitors to all detention facilities.
“We call on diplomatic missions in Nigeria to raise these cases in bilateral engagements and condition security cooperation on demonstrable progress in police accountability.”
As pressure mounts, CAPTI says it will continue documenting arrests and court proceedings. “This is not accountability,” the group’s coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, said in a statement. “It is the performance of justice under pressure.”
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