Unidentified Bodies in Imo Following the widespread allegations of complicity of the Tiger Base Police Station in Owerri, the military and other security agencies in cases of extrajudicial killings and
Unidentified Bodies in Imo
Following the widespread allegations of complicity of the Tiger Base Police Station in Owerri, the military and other security agencies in cases of extrajudicial killings and disappearance of suspects in the South-east, President Bola Tinubu should order an independent probe into the recent allegation by Amnesty International that hundreds of unidentified bodies were moved from mortuaries in parts of Imo State to unknown locations, **Ejiofor Alike **reports
Despite the return of peace in the South-east, allegations of extrajudicial killings and disappearance of crime suspects have continued unabated.
Residents of the region and human rights groups had blamed ‘Operation Python Dance’, a military operation launched by the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd.), from November to December 2016 as the primary cause of the insecurity suffered by the zone.
When the Nigerian Army announced in Abuja on September 12, 2017 that ‘Operation Python Dance II’, would again be launched in the region between September 15 and October 14, 2017, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo had kicked against a repeat of the military operation.
The then President General of socio-cultural organisation, Chief John Nwodo, had called on the federal government to direct the military to call off the operation, describing it as an invasion of the region aimed at intimidating the people.
Despite the protest by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Nigerian Army, which was noted for its impunity and high-handedness under Buratai, went ahead with the operation.
The military operation was repeated in 2019 and during each operation, unarmed agitators who assembled in churches and schools were allegedly murdered in cold blood.
The alleged arbitrary arrests, torture, detention and killing of innocent people and the shielding of killer-herdsmen by soldiers were believed to have provoked armed struggle in the region in 2020.
Before the Buratai-led army first conducted Operation Python Dance in 2016, the region was peaceful, but the army claimed the reason for the operation was to ensure security during the 2016 Christmas celebrations.
Similar unwarranted military operations were conducted by the Buratai-led army in the other five geopolitical zones.
However, rather than strengthening internal security across the country, these operations marked the beginning of the escalation of insecurity in many parts of Nigeria.
Since that period, the allegations of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearance of residents have continued to trail the operations of the various security agencies in the region.
With these widespread allegations, the recent call by Amnesty International on the Nigerian authorities to urgently account for hundreds of unidentified bodies allegedly being moved from mortuaries across Imo State to undisclosed locations should not be ignored by President Bola Tinubu.
Certain police units in the geopolitical zone had been accused by local and global rights bodies of killing suspects extra-judicially and causing the forced disappearance of residents.
For instance, on January 19, 2013, no fewer than 40 unidentified male dead bodies were discovered floating in the Ezu River, which flows through Amansea, a border community between Awka North Local Government Area (LGA) in Anambra State, and Enugu State.
A section of the people of the region had alleged that the bodies belonged to detained suspects who were extra-judicially executed by the defunct Awkuzu Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), now Awkuzu Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
The police, however, denied being responsible for the deaths.
Awkuzu SARS in Oyi LGA of Anambra State was described by a section of the foreign media as the “most dreaded” police station in Nigeria due to its notoriety unlawful arrests, extortion, rape, torture and murder, according to the various reports of the EndSARS investigative panels.
Despite the national outrage and a promise of N5million reward by the then Governor Peter Obi for information that could unravel the cause of their deaths, as well as the promises of investigations by the Senate and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), no investigative report on the cause of the deaths and identities of the victims was concluded and released.
President Tinubu should therefore not allow security agencies alone to conduct the investigation into the latest incident in Imo State because they are perceived as the prime suspects.
If the unidentified bodies are victims of the various operations of the security agencies in the South-east, the affected families have a right to know the fate of their missing loved ones.
Tiger Base Police Station in Owerri, the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command, and the Awkuzu RRS under the Anambra State Police Command, have been fingered as perpetrating extrajudicial killings.
In a detailed report on the Tiger Base, released on February 25, 2026, Amnesty International had described the police unit as the “Tiger Base of atrocities.”
The report accused the police station of “entrenched human rights violations, including prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, extortion, and enforced disappearances – including the removal of children from their mothers without records.”
“Tiger Base has become synonymous with police operating outside of the law and abusing their power to enrich themselves through extortion. The atrocities committed by the Tiger Base police unit is yet another sign of the Nigerian authorities’ failure to end widespread torture, extrajudicial execution, extortion and other crimes at the hands of law enforcement,” said Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi.
After the disbandment of the notorious SARS, rights groups still insisted that the change of name of Awkuzu SARS to Awkuzu RRS has not led to any improvement in the human rights record of the police unit, as they still describe Awkuzu RRS as a reincarnation of the dreaded Awkuzu SARS.
No fewer than 11 suspects reportedly died in custody between March and December 2022 while being detained by the Awkuzu police unit.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo had once directed the Attorney General of the state to call for and review all case files with allegations of human rights abuses handled by the police unit, due to the allegations of illegal detention, kidnapping, extrajudicial killing and human organ harvesting levelled against the unit.
However, an investigation by the police high command was said to have exonerated the unit of allegation of organ harvesting.
President Tinubu should not ignore Amnesty International’s latest alarm on the secret movement of unknown bodies in Imo State.
In a statement issued on August 22, the rights group expressed concern over reports indicating that large numbers of unidentified remains were being evacuated from facilities, including Ngor Okpala General Hospital and Mbieri General Hospital.
Amnesty noted that video evidence obtained by its investigators showed coordinated transfers of human remains at night, with a majority of the bodies in advanced stages of decomposition.
“Horrifying videos obtained by Amnesty International show coordinated stages of moving the dead bodies at night. Majority of the bodies are at skeletal level and in large numbers,” the statement read.
Amnesty highlighted allegations that some of the deceased might have been victims of extrajudicial killings carried out during security operations in the state, demanding an independent and impartial probe.
Unravelling the identities of these unidentified bodies and the cause of their deaths require urgent presidential intervention to save the South-east from the alleged impunity and other excesses of security agents.
