THE grim allegations emerging from the Imo State Police Command’s so-called ‘Tiger Base’ facility in Owerri read like notes from a totalitarian state rather than a constitutional republic. Survivors and families of victims describe an odious system where torture, extortion, prolonged illegal detention and alleged extrajudicial killings are routine tools of policing. Therefore, Tiger Base is a stain on Nigeria’s democratic conscience.
Originally conceived as a tactical operations hub to combat kidnapping and armed robbery, Tiger Base has, according to numerous human rights complaints, morphed into a place dreaded by citizens as a centre of brutality.
Former detainees recount ordeals that should alarm any country governed by law. Some allege they were hung upside down and beaten silly with rifle butts. Others describe electric shocks, water torture, or being forced to confess to crimes they insist they never committed.
There are accounts of detainees crammed into filthy cells for weeks without formal charges. Families say they were forced to pay large sums—sometimes hundreds of thousands of naira—to secure the release of loved ones.
More chilling still are persistent claims of deaths in custody. Human rights advocates have reported cases where detainees allegedly died after torture, their bodies quietly moved out of the facility with little explanation to relatives on the exact circumstances of death.
This is unacceptable in a 21st-century democracy.
These accusations echo a deeply troubling pattern across Nigeria’s policing architecture. Tiger Base is not an isolated anomaly. It is the latest manifestation of a culture of impunity embedded in some specialised police units over decades.
An example is the now-disbanded Special Anti‑Robbery Squad created in 1992 to tackle armed robbery and violent crime. Over time, SARS became synonymous with extrajudicial killings, torture, unlawful arrests and systematic extortion, particularly targeting young Nigerians.
Years of complaints by civil society groups culminated in the nationwide #EndSARS protests in October 2020, when young citizens demanded an end to police brutality.
Yet history repeated itself almost immediately. In the aftermath of SARS’ dissolution, the police established the Special Weapons and Tactics Team. Nigerians were assured the new unit would be different.
But many activists warned that SWAT risked becoming SARS under another name, particularly because structural reforms, accountability mechanisms and vetting of personnel remained weak.
Over the years, Nigerians have tasted violence at the hands of officers deployed to notorious tactical units across the country. Such units include: Intelligence Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, Rapid Response Squad, Anti-Kidnapping Unit, and Anti-Cultism Unit.
Their detention facilities earned reputations similar to Tiger Base.
In Abuja, a police complex, notoriously known as “Abattoir,” has long been cited as a location where suspects allegedly face severe torture. The nickname itself—Abattoir—speaks volumes about public perception of what happens within its walls.
In Lagos, the Panti Police Station—home to SARS before its disbandment—became infamous for brutal interrogation methods and forced confessions.
In Anambra, the former Special Anti‑Cultism Squad, established to combat cult violence, also faced repeated accusations of torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings.
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented these patterns.
Amnesty reported that Nigerian police units routinely use torture—including beatings, suspension from ceilings, and mock executions—to extract confessions. Some detainees allegedly die in custody after such treatment.
Equally troubling is the entrenched “revenue extraction” culture embedded in parts of the policing system. Victims frequently report being forced to pay money for bail, despite the well-known legal principle that bail is free.
This is policing turned upside down: instead of protecting citizens from criminals, citizens find themselves seeking protection from the police.
The #EndSARS protests were not merely about one rogue unit; they were about a systemic crisis of accountability. Protesters demanded independent investigations, prosecution of abusive officers and structural reform of the Nigeria Police Force.
Six years later, few officers accused of serious abuses have been successfully prosecuted. Many victims never received justice, while some officers were quietly redeployed rather than disciplined. The result is predictable: impunity persists.
The allegations surrounding Tiger Base must not be treated as just another scandal to be buried under the bureaucratic rug.
Tunji Disu, the new Inspector-General of Police, faces a defining moment. If the Nigeria Police is to regain public trust, decisive action is required.
First, an independent forensic investigation must be launched into the activities at Tiger Base. Not a routine internal review, but a credible inquiry capable of uncovering the full scale of alleged abuses.
Second, any officers found responsible must be prosecuted transparently in civilian courts. Administrative transfers or quiet retirements are not justice.
Third, the Tiger Base facility itself should be shut down pending the outcome of investigations.
Finally, Nigeria must confront the deeper structural problem: a policing system that too often rewards brutality rather than professionalism.
Democracies do not maintain torture chambers nor tolerate secret detention facilities where suspects vanish into darkness.
Allowing institutions of state violence to operate without accountability only deepens the fracture between citizens in Nigeria’s fragile democracy.
This cycle of impunity must end.
