Family Seeks Inquest Into Death Of Imo Resident Ejiogu In Notorious 'Tiger Base' Police Custody

The family of Mr. Magnus Ejiogu has petitioned the Chief Coroner of Imo State High Court, seeking an inquest into his death while in custody of the notorious Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Nigerian Police Force in Owerri, Imo State otherwise known as 'Tiger Base'.

According to the petition filed by Kevin C. Uzozie of Kevin Uzozie & Co, Ejiogu was arrested on September 23, 2023, at Control, Owerri, while conducting his business as a transporter. 

He was allegedly detained without access to his family or lawyers, and his family was not informed of his death until four days later, on October 27, 2025.

The petition alleged that Ejiogu's death was violent, unnatural, sudden, and painful, and that he was continuously tortured until his death.

The petition, dated November 5, which SaharaReporters obtained, partly read: "We have been informed that the said Magnus Ejiogu was arrested by the Anti -Kidnapping Unit of the Nigerian Police Force, Owerri Division, Imo State Branch, on the 23rd day of September, 2023 at Control, Owerri, Imo State, while he was conducting his business as a transporter. 

"That he was a healthy man at the time of Kidnapping arrest. At the time of his death he was in the custody of the Anti-kidnapping Unit of the Nigerian police who did not release him on bail and denied access to him by both his family and Lawyers; and did not bring him before any court for any offence.

"Through out the time, he was in the custody of the police, the family was never informed that he was sick. However, on about the 27th day of October, 2025 the family members heard information that the corpse of the said Magnus Ejiogu was seen at the Police Premises of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Owerri Division. 

"The family was invited by the Police Homicide Division of Owerri, Imo State where the wife, Mrs. Chinyere Magnus Ejiogu was informed that her husband Magnus Ejiogu died in the custody of the Anti - Kidnapping Department," the petition partly read.

The family is seeking an inquest to establish the cause of death, citing discrepancies in the mortuary records and the police's account of events.

"We have it on good authority that the deceased's death was violent, unnatural, sudden, and painful as he was continuously tortured until death," the petition reads.

The family is requesting the Chief Coroner's appointment of a coroner to hold an inquest into Ejiogu's death, pursuant to Section 6 of the Coroner Law of Imo State.

The petition highlights concerns over the treatment of detainees in police custody and the need for accountability in cases of death in custody.

The petition added, "It may interest your Lordship to know that whereas the deceased body was deposited at the mortuary on the 23rd day of October, 2025 the family were only informed of the death days after the death and the wife was informed that he died on the 27th day of October, 2025, while the mortuary tally indicated that the corpse was deposited 23rd day of October, 2025. The above is also indicative that there is need for an inquest.

"My lord, we crave your indulgence pursuant to Section 6 of the Coroner Law of Imo State and under the Inherent Jurisdiction of Your Lordship, for the appointment of Coroner to hold inquest and establish the cause of death as we believe that the death of the said Magnus Ejiogu was not natural," it reads.

SaharaReporters had on November 3, reported that the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Global Defence Consortium (MNGDC) had accused the Nigeria Police Force of carrying out a “state-sanctioned custodial murder,” after a detainee labelled as “IPOB sponsor” died in police custody.

The group had in a statement signed by Barrister Christopher Chidera stated that the death of Ejogu was not a death by illness. "This was a custodial killing, a State-sanctioned execution carried out under the cover of authority.”

The Consortium dismissed the police explanation as a “criminal cover-up,” alleging that the “he died of illness in custody” narrative has long been used to conceal torture and extrajudicial killings by Nigerian security agents.

The Nigeria Police Force, Imo Command, had denied the allegation that operatives of its Anti-kidnapping Unit (Tiger Base) known for its notoriety for extrajudicial and custodial killings, tortured one Mr Magnus Ejiogu, who the police labelled an IPOB sponsor, to death while in custody.

SaharaReporters reported on Friday, October 31, that the family of Ejiogu, who hails from Obudi Agwa community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, accused the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (Tiger Base) of killing him while in custody after he was arrested for a crime the family said he knew nothing about.

According to Ejiogu’s family, he was arrested at a control post, Owerri, on September 23, 2025, and detained by the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (Tiger Base), Owerri, without access to his family and lawyers until October 27, when the family said they learnt that Ejiogu had died.

The family said they learnt that Ejiogu was seriously tortured to death by officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, identified as ACP Ola. 

However, when contacted, ACP Ola denied the allegation, saying, “It’s not true. We are protecting the people. We don’t engage in killings. The lawyer and family are already meeting the investigating team in SCID Owerri. 

“I promise our hands are clean in this case, but the only thing I want you to believe is that nothing like torture or extrajudicial killings.”

But the MNGDC said, “No Nigerian believes this insulting tale anymore,” demanding that the Police provide medical records to support their claim. 

The Consortium posed several questions to the police, including, “Who diagnosed the so-called illness? Where is the medical report? Why was he detained if he was allegedly sick? Why was he not granted bail or taken to a hospital?”

It added, “Silence is admission of guilt. This death happened because he was in Police custody, not in spite of it.”

The Consortium condemned what it called the “State’s criminalisation of identity,” warning that the label “IPOB” has effectively become a “death warrant” in Nigeria.

“Once security agents brand a person ‘IPOB’, due process is suspended and the person is treated as disposable,” it said. 

“This citizen was not tried, not convicted, not sentenced, yet he ended up dead. That is extrajudicial killing, plain and simple.”

According to the Consortium, the Nigerian government has tacitly authorised security agencies to operate a “kill-on-suspicion” policy against citizens associated with pro-Biafran causes.

The MNGDC further described the Police as a “State-protected execution squad” rather than a law enforcement institution, citing former Chief of Army Staff General T.Y. Danjuma’s warning that the armed forces had become complicit in violence against citizens.

“Security uniforms have become the camouflage of terror, and State authority has become a shield for human rights atrocities,” the Consortium noted.

Quoting constitutional provisions, the Consortium insisted that the Nigerian State bears full legal responsibility for any harm suffered by detainees in its custody.

“If he was tortured, the state killed him. If he was denied medical care, the State killed him. If he ‘fell ill’ under detention, the State still killed him. There is no escape clause,” the MNGDC stressed.

The Consortium demanded an “immediate independent autopsy and coroner’s inquest,” the release of detention and interrogation records, and criminal prosecution of all officers involved in the alleged torture or killing.

It also called for an end to what it termed “State-approved profiling and extermination of citizens labelled as IPOB.”

“Nigeria is becoming a country where citizens enter police custody alive and leave in body bags, and this is no longer acceptable,” the Consortium warned.

The MNGDC vowed to pursue legal action and public accountability over what it called a “pattern of death, denial, and deception” by Nigerian security agencies.

“Arrest. Detain. Torture. Kill. Blame illness. Issue a press release, this pattern must end,” the Consortium said. “This latest killing will not be buried in silence. Those responsible must face justice.”