Chinedu Agu, a lawyer and activist, has raised the alarm over alleged threats to his life by personnel of Tiger Base, a special police unit in Imo State known for systematic torture, extrajudicial killings, and the deaths of at least 200 detainees in custody.
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Agu was initially arrested in September 2025 following a petition by the Imo State Government, which accused him of publishing inciting posts on social media.
He had criticised Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration and the Tiger Base unit, which he described as a “specialist in the act of unchecked, barbaric, brutish savagery and callous human rights abuse.”
The unit, officially known as the Imo State Anti-Kidnapping Unit, has faced numerous allegations of human rights abuses, including illegal detention, torture, extortion, and extrajudicial killings, as reported by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and various local media outlets.
The police and state government have dismissed these claims, asserting that the unit is a legitimate tactical formation focused on combating serious crimes such as kidnapping and armed robbery.
In a statement on Saturday, the lawyer alleged that he received credible intelligence indicating that elements associated with Tiger Base are dissatisfied with his continued advocacy and have marked him for elimination.
The statement read: “Over the past weeks, I have openly and consistently lent my voice against the well-documented atrocities attributed to the Tiger Base Unit of the Imo State Police Command.
“On 10 December 2025, I published a satire (a poem) in Pidgin English titled ‘Tigerbase or Tiger Crase’, employing sharp imagery to reflect allegations of killings, torture, cruelty, and entrenched institutional lawlessness linked to the unit. (This poem is available on my Facebook wall).
“On 15 December 2025, I was invited by the Coalition Against Police Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI), where, alongside Omoyele Sowore, we publicly launched the report titled ‘The Tigerbase File: Systematic Torture, Extra-Judicial Killings, Enforced Disappearances and the Collapse of Police Accountability in Imo State, Nigeria.’ At that event, held at Social Action, 20 Yalinga Street, Wuse 2, Abuja, I delivered a speech titled ‘Remarks by Chinedu Agu on the Occasion of the Public Presentation of the Tigerbase Files’ (also available on my Facebook wall), which subsequently went viral.
“A few days ago, I read a public alert by Chinonso Uba, the journalist popularly known as Nonso Nkwa, in which he raised similar concerns about threats to his safety arising from his investigative advocacy that exposed this same unit. At the time, I regarded his warning as yet another troubling illustration of the risks faced by those who challenge entrenched abuses. I did not anticipate that this pattern of intimidation would soon extend to me. The implication is now difficult to ignore: those who have participated in exposing the rot within this system appear to be increasingly targeted [CAPTI has also captured this development in its statement released today and available on my Facebook wall].
“Yesterday, 26 December 2025, I received credible intelligence indicating that elements associated with Tiger Base are dissatisfied with my continued advocacy and have marked me for elimination.
“Ordinarily, I would have treated this as one among the numerous threats that frequently accompany civic engagement in Nigeria. However, I am compelled to take this threat seriously in light of the unit’s documented institutional record and its entrenched contempt for the sanctity of human life.
“The CAPTI report records over 200 unlawful deaths attributed to the Tiger Base Unit within the last five years. This is not conjecture. It is evidence-based, documented, and now part of the public record. When an institution with such a dangerous history is linked to an elimination scheme, silence becomes perilous.
“As an Igbo proverb cautions, it is only a tree that remains standing at the threat of being cut down. I am therefore issuing this statement deliberately and publicly to place my situation on record and to draw the attention of the world.
“The mother hen who cries aloud when the kite carries her chick does so for the entire neighbourhood to hear her voice. Let it be clearly noted that my life is presently at risk, and any harm that may befall me or any member of my family must be properly situated.
“I hold the Nigeria Police Force, the Imo State Government, and all relevant security authorities accountable for my safety and that of my family.
“I hereby call on international human rights organisations; foreign diplomatic missions; the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC); the Nigerian Bar Association Human Rights Committee; civil society organisations; press freedom and human rights defenders; United Nations human rights mechanisms; Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC); Spaces for Change (S4C); Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF-France); Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN); International Solidarity for Peace and Human Rights Initiative (ISPHRI); the Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS); Prison Advocacy & Justice Initiative (PAJI); Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy & Development (FENRAD); Open Bar Initiative (OBI); Atrocities Watch Africa; Nchekwa Ndi Ogbenye Foundation; Vision Spring Initiatives; People’s Rights Organization (PRO); Democracy and Human Rights Network (DHRN); Vivacious Development Initiative (VIDI); Human Rights Social Development and Environmental Foundation (HURSDEF); the Initiative for Public Safety, Security and Educational Development in Nigeria (IPSSED); and all allied bodies to take urgent cognisance, sustain protective attention, and insist on accountability.”
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