Tiger Base And Theft Of Recovered Vehicles: How Alleged Asset Conversion, Intimidation And Abuse At Imo Police Unit Turn Law Enforcement Into Organized Crime — By Okechukwu Nwanguma

Human rights activist Okechukwu Nwanguma has raised alarm over alleged systemic corruption at the Nigeria Police’s Tiger Base in Imo State, accusing operatives of stealing, converting and unlawfully disposing of recovered vehicles. In the opinion piece, he alleges that standard police procedures for announcing and returning recovered property have collapsed, with vehicles instead repainted, re-registered and shared or sold among officers. Nwanguma argues that this practice re-victimises crime survivors, destroys public trust and reinforces a broader culture of impunity marked by torture, intimidation and secrecy. Drawing from a personal case involving a recovered Toyota Highlander, he calls for urgent reform or dismantling of Tiger Base to restore accountability and the rule of law in Nigerian policing.