Amnesty International Exposes Enforced Disappearance of Children at Imo State Tiger Base Nigerian Police Unit Testimonies from survivors det...
Testimonies from survivors detained at Tiger Base, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Nigeria Police Imo State Command in Owerri, have revealed a disturbing pattern: children arrested alongside their mothers are taken away by officers and never returned. According to a new briefing by Amnesty International, these separations are not routine custody measures but amount to enforced disappearances, with children removed without records, concealed from relatives, and never reunited with their families.
The unit, originally established to combat kidnapping and armed robbery in Imo State, has instead become notorious for systemic human rights violations, including unlawful arrests, prolonged arbitrary detention without charge, torture, extortion, extrajudicial executions, and enforced disappearances. Amnesty International’s investigation, detailed in the February 2026 briefing titled ‘Tiger Base of Atrocities, documents how detainees often held for weeks, months, or even years are subjected to severe abuse, while some simply vanish.
Children Removed Without Trace
Survivors describe a consistent practice in which police officers separate children from their detained mothers and fail to provide any information about their whereabouts. There is no documentation of the children’s removal, no official transfer to child welfare services, and no acknowledgment when families inquire.
One survivor told Amnesty International: “I was arrested along with my three children… Tiger Base officers took my children away, pushed me into the cell. That was the last time I saw them. I have not seen my children in over two years.”
Another woman, Udumma, who was held for over two years, recounted being arrested in October 2023 with her three children. Since October 11, 2023, she has had no contact with them. Officers claimed the children were taken to an orphanage, but a woman supposedly from that facility visited Tiger Base without providing verifiable details or facilitating reunion.
Additional cases highlight the pattern:
A pregnant woman known as “Nne Nwa” gave birth at a police clinic on November 27, 2024. Officers recorded a video of the newborn and allowed other detainees to see the mother and baby. Both then disappeared.
Ten year old Obele was kept “behind the counter” at Tiger Base for two months, running errands for officers, before vanishing.
In multiple instances, mothers and other detainees reported that officers refused to disclose information or actively obstructed searches for the missing children.
Amnesty International concludes that the lack of records, the refusal to provide information, and the deliberate obstruction of families seeking their children indicate a systematic practice that meets the international definition of enforced disappearance: state agents deprive individuals of liberty and then refuse to acknowledge the act or conceal the person’s fate, placing them outside legal protection.
The removal of children forms part of wider atrocities at the facility. Detainees have reported torture methods including beatings, cutting wounds left to bleed, and prolonged detention in harsh conditions, such as “Cell 1,” where many reportedly disappear. Families are often extorted for large sums to secure releases, and some suspects are shot or killed in custody. The unit has also been accused of arresting people to settle personal scores, including land or family disputes, rather than focusing on actual kidnapping cases.
Amnesty International has called on Nigerian authorities to immediately investigate all allegations of torture, unlawful detention, and the disappearance of children at Tiger Base, ensure accountability for perpetrators, and end the culture of impunity.
The organization urges the Imo State Police Command and federal authorities to:
Thoroughly investigate the removal and non-return of children from detained mothers.
Provide families with immediate information on the whereabouts and well-being of the missing children.
Release all unlawfully detained individuals or charge them promptly in accordance with the law.
Reform or disband units implicated in such systematic violations.
As one survivor put it, the pain of not knowing the fate of one’s children compounds the trauma of detention itself. Families across Imo State and beyond continue to search for answers, while the Nigerian authorities face renewed pressure to address the entrenched abuses at Tiger Base.
This briefing adds to growing documentation of human rights concerns in Nigeria’s southeast, where security operations have sometimes exacerbated rather than resolved violence and impunity. Amnesty International emphasizes that true security requires respect for the rule of law and the protection of the most vulnerable, including children caught in the system.
Family Writers Press International.
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