The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has filed four fundamental rights enforcement suits before the High Court of Imo State, seeking judicial accountability over allegations of torture, arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention, and other human rights violations linked to the Tiger Base Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command.
The cases, filed on behalf of eight applicants, are scheduled for hearing on Wednesday, August 5, 2026.
In a statement issued on Monday, RULAAC’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, described the suits as landmark public interest litigation that could become one of the most significant judicial examinations of alleged police brutality and impunity in recent years.
According to the organisation, the applicants allege torture, unlawful shootings, extortion, arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without trial, and other violations of their constitutional rights, allegedly committed by officers attached to the Tiger Base Unit.
RULAAC noted that the Tiger Base Anti-Kidnapping Unit has, for years, faced repeated allegations from victims, their families, and human rights organisations of torture, enforced disappearances, and prolonged detention without trial.
It said the court proceedings would provide one of the first opportunities for many of those allegations to be tested through sworn evidence before a competent court.
According to the organisation, seven of the eight applicants claimed they spent more than two years in detention at the Tiger Base facility without being convicted of any offence. Others alleged that they were arrested not because they committed any crime, but because they were wives, girlfriends, sisters, or relatives of individuals the police were searching for.
One of the applicants, Onyebuchi Anyanwu, alleged that she was arrested alongside her three infant children in 2023 over claims that her husband had links to the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to her affidavit, she was separated from her children shortly after arriving at Tiger Base and, by the time the suits were filed in July 2026, she still had no information about their whereabouts. She was eventually arraigned after spending about two years in detention.
Another applicant, Chinaza Ifeanyi, alleged that she was arrested while nursing her two-month-old baby and was separated from the infant shortly after being taken to Tiger Base.
She further claimed that she was never informed of the child’s whereabouts and alleged that she was assaulted, compelled to sign documents she did not prepare, dispossessed of her personal belongings, and had ₦30,000 withdrawn from her bank account using her ATM card without her consent.
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RULAAC said Chinaza, alongside Munachi Ifeanyi and Chidera Onyemuwa, maintained that they were detained solely because of their relationship with individuals the police intended to arrest.
Another applicant, Kenneth Anyanwu, alleged that he was mistakenly shot in the abdomen during a police operation despite not being the intended target.
According to his affidavit, he suffered life-threatening injuries and was left bleeding in the boot of a police vehicle for several hours before receiving medical attention. He is asking the court to determine whether the force used against him was lawful and whether his constitutional rights were violated.
“The remaining applicants, Ngozi Ogbonna, Chinenye Obi, and Nkechinyere Ogu, also alleged unlawful arrest, prolonged detention, and violations of their fundamental rights,” the statement added.
RULAAC said the suits are supported by sworn affidavits and other documentary evidence, including reports by Amnesty International and the Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI), which have documented allegations of torture and other abuses associated with the Tiger Base Unit.
The organisation stressed that while the respondents are entitled to contest the allegations and present their defence, the seriousness of the claims warrants independent judicial scrutiny.
It called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organisations, the media, and members of the public to closely monitor the proceedings.
According to RULAAC, securing justice for victims of torture and unlawful detention is essential to restoring public confidence in policing and reaffirming the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.
