Amnesty International has called on the Imo State Attorney-General to prosecute two police officers found culpable in the death of 32-year-old Japheth Njoku in custody at Tiger Base, Owerri, Imo State.
They referenced a coroner’s finding that prolonged detention and inhuman conditions contributed to Njoku’s death.
The organisation also urged the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission and the Imo State Commissioner of Police to implement the recommendations of the coroner, Chief Magistrate E. U. Chinaka, who delivered the findings on September 30.
The coroner had recommended the prosecution of Inspector Barnabas and CSP Olademeji for extortion and corruption, alongside compensation for Njoku’s family over his unlawful detention and the deterioration of his health in custody.
Amnesty International, in a statement on Sunday, called for concrete action against those found culpable.
It stressed that the coroner’s findings must lead to concrete action, including prosecution where sufficient evidence of criminal responsibility exists.
The statement read, “His death demands truth, justice and accountability. His family has a right to an effective remedy, and anyone suspected to be responsible must be held to account.”
Amnesty International also called for an independent investigation into reported attempts to obstruct the court-ordered autopsy and intimidate witnesses.
The organisation said the findings reinforced longstanding concerns about alleged human rights violations at Tiger Base, including arbitrary detention, torture, other forms of ill-treatment, extortion and deaths in custody.
It urged the authorities to strengthen safeguards for people held in police custody and ensure that victims of human rights violations received effective remedies.
The inquest followed an application by Njoku’s family seeking to establish the circumstances surrounding his “sudden, violent and unnatural death” in the custody of the Imo State Police Command on or about May 5, 2025.
The court found that Njoku was arrested on March 29, 2025, over an allegation of stealing goods at Alaba market but was detained for about six weeks without being charged to court or granted bail.
“The offence for which the deceased was arrested was stealing, which is a bailable offence,” the coroner held.
According to the findings, Barnabas demanded N500,000 as police bail, while a further N300,000 was allegedly demanded for the complainant, identified in the proceedings as Ugomore Oluchi Obiagwu.
The coroner held that the demands for money were responsible for Njoku’s continued detention.
“The said Inspector Barnabas demanded a bail sum which the deceased and his family could not afford. This was the exact reason why he was kept in detention for six weeks,” the court stated.
During the inquest, Barnabas claimed that Njoku was denied bail because CSP Olademeji identified him as a terrorist during a routine inspection of the detention facility.
He also claimed that Njoku had confessed to being a terrorist.
However, the coroner found that Barnabas failed to produce the alleged confession and admitted that it had not been recorded in accordance with Section 18(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Rejecting the explanation, the court described the terrorism claim as a fabrication intended to conceal alleged extortion and prolonged detention.
“The story of the deceased being a terrorist and confessing to the same was concocted by Inspector Barnabas and O/C Olademeji to cover their illegitimate business of prolonged detention aimed at extortion and corruption,” it ruled.
The coroner also condemned the conditions at the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, popularly known as Tiger Base, in Owerri, where Njoku was held.
“The Anti-Kidnapping Unit has lost total sense of duty as policemen resorted to torture, intimidation and extortion of defendants kept in their custody,” the court stated.
Njoku’s brother, Uchechukwu Njoku, told the inquest that the family was denied access to him for a prolonged period.
He said his brother had complained about the foul-smelling toilet and overcrowding in the cell, which allegedly forced detainees to stand for extended periods.
Another witness, Basil Ekenyere, told the court that more than 45 suspects were held in an extremely overcrowded cell.
He alleged that two or three detainees sometimes died in a day.
Ekenyere also testified that he paid N300,000 to settle the complainant in his own case and another N650,000 as police bail before he was released.
The autopsy report tendered before the court listed meningitis, bronchial pneumonia and hypertensive heart disease as the causes of Njoku’s death.
The medical pathologist, however, did not testify during the inquest.
On the circumstances of the death, the coroner linked Njoku’s deteriorating health to the conditions and length of his detention.
“The inhuman condition in which the officers kept the deceased broke him and led to his deteriorated health condition that eventually caused his death.
“It was the act of prolonged detention that caused the untimely death of the deceased,” the court held.
Apart from prosecution, the coroner recommended that the Anti-Kidnapping Unit bear the cost of Njoku’s burial and that the Imo State Police Command pay adequate compensation to his family for his unlawful detention and the deterioration of his health in custody.
The court also recommended the immediate transfer of all officers serving at the unit, the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in police detention facilities and the establishment of a special unit to monitor their operation.
It further directed that police investigators receive adequate training on the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Police Act concerning the detention of suspects.
The Inspector-General of Police and the Imo State Commissioner of Police were directed to ensure compliance with the recommendations, with the authorities given three months to implement them.