TIGER BASE: Amnesty International highlights life in Nigeria’s most notorious detention camp

*Accuses authorities of gross violation of rights, extrajudicial killings

*Country Director calls for independent probe of atrocities

BY ORIAKU IJELE & TOSIN ADAMS

It is called Tiger Base. But for citizens it means different things depending on whether one is a suspect or a police officer. Located in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, Tiger Base, designed to receive suspects for various criminal violations, is currently a subject of horror and gross exploitation, as recorded by Amnesty International, Nigeria, whose latest report published few days ago, captured the gory scenes that have become of life at this centre, arguably being classified as one of Nigeria’s most notorious detention camps.

Titled ‘Tiger Base of Atrocities: Human Rights Violations by Nigeria Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Owerri’, The Daily Monitor on Sunday notes that the report, highlights how maltreatment and extrajudicial killings of suspects have been going on at the facility, with a firm call by the Country Director of Amnesty International for an independent probe of the identified infractions.

According to the report, “Tiger Base has become synonymous with police operating outside of the law and abusing their power to enrich themselves through extortion. The atrocities committed by the Tiger Base police unit is yet another sign of the Nigerian authorities’ failure to end widespread torture, extrajudicial execution, extortion and other crimes at the hands of law enforcement. Many are traumatised forever. Despite the horrific violations they have suffered, there has been no accountability to date,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.

“Torture, ill-treatment and prolonged unlawful detention

Many detainees locked up at Tiger Base’s detention centre are not asked for their statements regarding the allegations they face, and neither are they brought before a court. This enables the police to unlawfully detain people for indefinite periods of time without arraignment, thereby depriving them of essential procedural safeguards.

“One survivor of prolonged unlawful detention told Amnesty International:

“They arrested me insisting I bought stolen items. I told them I didn’t know anything about it. They locked me up and seized my phone. After about three weeks, a police officer came to take my statement. Still, they kept me locked up…. They later told us that the complainant claimed her loss was worth ₦14 million (US$9,500) but that she agreed to collect ₦4.5 million (US$3,100) instead. They said if I wanted to be released, my family would pay.”

“Former detainees said they were forced to write incriminating statements under torture, which included severe beatings with iron rods and cables. Knives, machetes, batons, water and whips were also used to torture suspects. Some detainees were tied up with ropes so that their bodies were hanging. Then they were cut and their wounds left to bleed.

“The resulting coerced “confessions” were used by police to demand a bribe that would have to be paid before a detainee could be released on bail. Former detainees said Tiger Base officers illegally arrest and detain dozens of people every day with the sole aim of extorting money from their relatives in exchange for suspects being released.

“There is a thriving illegal point of sale (POS) business within the premises of the Tiger Base detention centre. In Nigeria, handheld POS machines act like an ATM allowing people to withdraw cash instantly from their bank accounts.

“Our investigation shows that, at Tiger Base, officials from time to time take out inmates from the cells and shoot them. A survivor told our organization: “The other guy took him out, we heard gunshots, we thought they had killed him but after some hours in the night he came into the cell. We looked at his leg, and they shot him. He is carrying bullet wounds inside the cell with us; nobody cares.”

On inhuman and degrading conditions in detention, the report says, “Each of Tiger Base’s four main detention cells measures about 12 feet by 12 feet with more than 70 people squeezed inside. As a result, detainees are forced to take turns either to sit or squat.

“Testimonies collected by Amnesty International indicated that few people sent to Cell 1 came out alive. According to a former detainee: “If you survive Cell 1, it is only by God’s grace. Many people disappeared after being moved there; nobody ever saw them again.

“There are no windows in the cells and only one toilet per cell, which overflows with waste as people are forced to urinate, defecate and sleep in the same small place. The stench is unbearable. Former detainees reported seeing their cellmates passing out from overcrowding, intense heat and exhaustion.”

A former detainee told Amnesty International Nigeria that, “People [in the cells] will be crying: ‘someone is dying here!’ They [officials] will still lock the cell gate…Then, even if they bring you out, they will still beat you up to see whether you are pretending or not. Then, they will take you out and keep you in the corridor for air. If you regain consciousness, they will throw you back into the cell”.

According to Amnesty International, it has reviewed an autopsy report which showed that Okechukwu Ogbedagu died of asphyxiation. To cover up their atrocity, Tiger Base officers charged the three youth leaders who handed Okechukwu Ogbedagu to them with murder. They were released after about six months.

In another case documented by Amnesty International, on or around 5 May 2025, Japhet Njoku, a security guard who was accused of stealing, died in Tiger Base detention. Police officials told his family members following days of repeated demands, that he was beaten to death in his cell. Since then, Tiger Base officials have frustrated every attempt to conduct a coroner court-ordered autopsy to ascertain the cause of Japhet Njoku’s death—they have failed to turn up for the autopsy on four different occasions, despite the availability of the court-appointed pathologists.

“The atrocities committed by the Tiger Base police unit is yet another sign of the Nigerian authorities’ failure to end widespread torture, extrajudicial execution, extortion and other crimes at the hands of law enforcement. It appears the police have not learnt any lessons from the #EndSARS protests. Instead of being held accountable, corrupt police officers have been emboldened to commit human rights violations by the impunity they enjoy,” said Isa Sanusi, the Country Director of Amnesty.

To quickly ameliorate this, Isa Sanusi, Country Director, Amnesty International Nigeria, tasked the Nigerian authorities to promptly establish an independent, impartial and effective investigation of the atrocities committed by Tiger Base unit police officers in Owerri, Imo state. The investigation must also examine the conduct of the Commander and other officers at the Tiger Base detention centre, their involvement in human rights violations, corrupt practices and other misconducts.

“Under Nigeria’s constitution and international and regional human rights treaties authorities have an obligation to ensure that human rights violations uncovered at Tiger Base are investigated and suspected perpetrators brought to justice, while victims receive adequate reparation,” Isa Sanusi says.