Newlywed Security Guard Tortured To Death Police Custody, Body Hidden In Morgue
There is ongoing crying in Owerri, Imo State, lies the infamous Tiger Base, a police unit with an ugly reputation for brutal tactics and disregard for human rights.
The recent death of Japheth Njoku, a 32-year-old security guard, has brought attention to the atrocities committed within the walls of Tiger Base.
According to Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), in a report on the matter made available to SaharaReporters on Friday, “Tiger Base is a crime scene, not a crime-fighting unit.”
He alleged that the newlywed, Njoku, was killed and his body secretly taken to a morgue without his family’s knowledge.
It was gathered that Njoku, a newly married man and a committed worker at the Alaba Market in Owerri, was initially detained over an allegation of cigarette theft. This issue was eventually resolved with the supposed complainant.
However, just as he was about to be released, a fresh allegation was brought against him, and he was reportedly arrested at the gate of the Area Command. This time, the arrest was allegedly instigated by a fellow trader at the market, Mrs. Oluchi Obiagwu.
According to RULAAC, she claimed to have lost goods valued at ₦15 million over the past four years. The group said this allegation had never been previously reported to either the market authorities or the police.
She accused the late Njoku, who worked as a security guard, of being responsible for the missing items.
“Japheth was not a criminal,” Nwanguma emphasised. “He was a victim of a corrupt police culture and a justice system that looks the other way.”
He said, “With the help of her police relative – Inspector Barnabas – the matter was transferred to notorious Tiger Base, a notorious torture facility masquerading as a police unit,” the activist said.
During his month-long detention, Japheth was subjected to relentless torture and extortion, Nwanguma explained.
According to RULAAC, Inspector Barnabas and his accomplices demanded a confession to a crime Japheth did not commit and pressed his family to pay millions of naira in extortion money.
“Even after reducing the ‘ransom’ to N4 million, they persisted with sadistic brutality,” Nwanguma said.
On May 6, 2025, Japheth reportedly died and his body was secretly deposited in the morgue at the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri.
RULAAC said the police continued to lie to his family, pretending he was still alive.
“Japheth Njoku was murdered in custody,” Nwanguma declared.
“This was not an accident. It was a calculated killing, enabled by a corrupt police culture and a justice system that condones impunity.”
The recent allegations against Tiger Base are not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of unconstitutional policing practices that have long subjected citizens to intimidation and abuse.
“The litany of human rights violations at Tiger Base includes arbitrary detention, forced confessions, denial of bail, torture, extortion, and now, cold-blooded murder,” Nwanguma stated in a report titled ‘Tiger Base must fall: the murder of Japheth Njoku and Nigeria’s Warped Security Apparatus.’
Meanwhile, the People’s Rights Organisation (PRO) has demanded a Coroner’s Inquest into Japheth’s death. Nwanguma also calls for the immediate closure and investigation of Tiger Base, the arrest and prosecution of all police officers involved, and reparations for Japheth’s family.
“The life of Japheth Njoku mattered,” Nwanguma stated. “His death must not be swept under the rug of bureaucracy and silence. If Nigeria has any conscience left, Tiger Base must fall, and those who killed Japheth must be held to account.”
To prevent such atrocities in the future, Nwanguma advocates for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s policing system, grounded in human rights, the rule of law, and accountability.
“We need a system that prioritises the protection of human life and dignity,” he said.
When contacted the Imo Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, he said, “I’m not aware of this report, but I will go to Anti-Kidnapping Unit to find out what happened.”
