My attention was recently drawn to a publication on an online platform called Crime World, titled “Encomiums As CSP Ola Revolutionalizes Imo State Tiger Base”, authored by one Endy Ndulaka, identified as the South-East Investigator Bureau Chief.
The article begins with the claim that “contrary to unfounded and nebulous criticisms by some uninformed human rights activists and disgruntled individuals…”, the anti-kidnapping unit in Imo State known as Tiger Base has received widespread commendation for its supposed revolutionary impact under the leadership of CSP Ola Adeyeyiwa.
Such sweeping and dismissive language aimed at critics of Tiger Base is not only disingenuous but dangerous. The media, constitutionally mandated to hold power to account on behalf of the people, must refrain from carrying out hatchet jobs that serve only to whitewash abuse and criminality. A journalist friend who shared the article with me remarked, “Journalists are part of the problem.” Sadly, in this instance, that observation is accurate.
Any journalist who is selfless, humane, and professional—and who truly understands what is happening in Imo State—would not seek to discredit credible investigative reports based on interviews with victims, survivors, their families, human rights defenders, and local journalists. These reports have meticulously documented widespread human rights abuses at Tiger Base, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, torture, extrajudicial killings, and extortion. In many cases, victims were entangled in civil disputes—matters such as land ownership, tenancy, and debt—issues which fall outside the proper jurisdiction of police intervention.
What responsible journalist would dismiss this chorus of concern as merely “nebulous criticisms by uninformed human rights activists and disgruntled individuals”? What journalist of integrity would ignore the deeply troubling evidence of impunity and instead amplify a sanitized narrative filled with half-truths?
We’ve seen this before. A former Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police once labeled critics of SARS as criminals. We know how that ended—SARS was disbanded, not because its critics were wrong, but because the overwhelming evidence of its abuse could no longer be denied. Tiger Base, like SARS, may have been created with the laudable goal of tackling violent crime, but when its operatives resort to criminal methods in the name of law enforcement, it loses legitimacy.
Nobody denies that Tiger Base has carried out successful operations: arresting kidnappers, rescuing victims, dismantling criminal networks. These are commendable achievements. However, when these operations are tainted by methods that trample on the rights and dignity of innocent people, the success becomes pyrrhic. Crime cannot be fought with crime.
There are credible reports of Tiger Base operatives engaging in collective punishment, burning the homes of suspects, abducting individuals without warrants, and torturing them to extract confessions. How many of the people paraded as suspects in the so-called successful operations have been charged in court and granted fair trials? These practices are not law enforcement; they are violations of fundamental rights and affronts to justice.
Even more troubling is the growing pattern of Tiger Base being used as a tool to suppress dissent, intimidate government critics, silence journalists, and harass activists. When a security unit strays into the political arena and becomes a weapon of oppression, it ceases to serve the people and starts to serve narrow, often sinister, interests.
We do not criticize Tiger Base because we are sympathetic to criminals. Far from it. We recognize that Imo State faces a serious crime problem, and we support targeted, intelligence-driven, and accountable policing efforts to combat it. But this must be done within the bounds of the law and with full respect for due process and human rights.
There’s a timeless legal maxim: “It is better for a hundred guilty persons to go free than for one innocent person to suffer.” This underscores the foundational principle that justice must never be sacrificed on the altar of expediency. Where injustice is institutionalized, public trust erodes, and insecurity deepens.
Tiger Base may be getting some results, but the ends do not justify the means. Any journalist who truly wishes to report objectively must reflect both the successes and the failures—the heroism and the horror. Honest journalism demands no less.
We insist on an honest, professional, and humane law enforcement system—one that protects, not persecutes; one that upholds justice, not undermines it. Only then can Tiger Base truly be said to be serving the people of Imo State.
Mr Nwanguma is the Executive Director, Rule of Law, Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC
