RULAAC Files Landmark Lawsuits Against Imo State Police Tiger Base Over Human Rights Abuses
The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has instituted four landmark public interest lawsuits before the High Court of Imo State in Owerri, accusing the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command, popularly known as Tiger Base, of widespread human rights violations, including torture, arbitrary arrest, forced labour, extortion, extrajudicial killings and the enforced disappearance of infants.
The fundamental rights enforcement suits, filed on July 21, 2026, by RULAAC’s lead counsel, Chinedu Agu, represent eight alleged victims. The respondents include the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, ACP Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa, and several officers attached to the unit.
The cases have been scheduled for hearing before the High Court in Owerri on Wednesday, August 5, 2026.
According to the court filings, the lawsuits allege a pattern of systemic human rights abuses in which women were arrested as substitutes for wanted male relatives, subjected to torture and degrading treatment, forced into labour while in detention, and separated from their infant children, whose whereabouts allegedly remain unknown years later.
In Suit No. HOW/475/2026, filed on behalf of Onyebuchi Anyanwu, Chinenye Obi and Nkechinyere Ogu, RULAAC alleges that Onyebuchi Anyanwu was arrested in 2023 alongside her three children—Peculiar (5), Ihuoma (8) and Onyinyechi (3)—over allegations linking her husband to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network.
The suit claims the children were taken from their mother shortly after arriving at Tiger Base. It further alleges that Chinenye Obi was arrested with her one-year-and-nine-month-old son, who was also removed from her custody. As of the filing of the suit in July 2026, the applicants contend that police authorities had not disclosed the location, welfare or custody of the four children.
Among the reliefs sought is a declaration that the removal of the children and the continued failure to account for their whereabouts constitute ongoing violations of the constitutional rights to dignity and family life of both the mothers and their children.
The applicants also allege they were compelled to perform forced labour from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, including washing officers’ clothes, carrying construction materials, undertaking building work, cooking for detainees and cleaning blood from allegedly executed inmates. They argue these acts amount to forced labour, servitude and degrading treatment prohibited under Section 34 of the Constitution.
The suit further states that the women were held incommunicado from late 2023 until their arraignment on December 16, 2025, and seeks N200 million in general, aggravated and exemplary damages for Onyebuchi Anyanwu and Chinenye Obi over the alleged disappearance of their children.
In Suit No. HOW/474/2026, filed on behalf of Chinaza Ifeanyi, Munachi Ifeanyi and Chidera Onyemuwa, Chinaza Ifeanyi alleges she was arrested while nursing her two-month-old baby and separated from the infant without explanation.
Her affidavit accuses officers of physically assaulting her, forcing her to sign statements under duress, destroying her personal belongings and withdrawing N30,000 from her bank account using her confiscated ATM card without authorization.
Suit No. HOW/476/2026, filed on behalf of Ngozi Ogbonna of Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, alleges that she was unlawfully detained at Tiger Base from December 12, 2024, to December 16, 2025.
According to the court documents, Ogbonna claims she was beaten with a walking stick, machete, belt and pistol, sustained a bleeding head injury, was forced to strip naked, threatened with pepper being applied to her eyes and private parts, and denied adequate medical care after suffering internal bleeding.
She is seeking a court order directing the Police Service Commission to investigate officers allegedly involved in her torture, sexual humiliation, denial of medical care, forced labour and prolonged detention, as well as N100 million in general, aggravated, exemplary and public law damages.
The fourth suit, No. HOW/477/2026, was filed on behalf of Kenneth Anyanwu, a trader and father of 11 from Ihitte-Afoukwu in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area.
Anyanwu alleges that on April 13, 2026, he was shot from behind in the abdomen by Officer Chinedu Iwueke while unarmed and attempting to walk away from a police scene, leaving his intestines protruding from the wound.
The suit seeks declarations that the shooting constituted unlawful use of force and an attempted deprivation of his right to life. It also alleges that officers chained his legs despite his critical condition and denied him immediate medical treatment, amounting to torture and degrading treatment.
In addition to requesting the refund of N47,000 allegedly taken from him during his arrest and reimbursement of his medical expenses, Anyanwu is seeking N500 million in general, aggravated, exemplary and public law damages.
The four lawsuits are supported by sworn affidavits, documentary evidence and investigative reports published by Amnesty International and the Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity.
Commenting on the legal action, RULAAC Executive Director Okechukwu Nwanguma described the proceedings as a significant opportunity for Nigeria’s judiciary to address longstanding allegations of police impunity.
He said Tiger Base had, for years, been the subject of allegations by victims, families and human rights organisations involving torture, prolonged detention without trial, enforced disappearances and other serious abuses, adding that the cases would allow those allegations to be tested through sworn evidence before the court.
Nwanguma further stated that accountability through independent judicial scrutiny is essential to restoring public confidence in policing and reaffirming the constitutional principle that no public institution or official is above the law.
He described the scheduled hearing on August 5, 2026, as not only a court proceeding but also a test of Nigeria’s commitment to justice, accountability and the rule of law.
All four suits are expected to come before the High Court of Imo State in Owerri on August 5, 2026.
