Pregnant Woman Loses Baby, Father Dies in Custody After Alleged Tiger Base Torture — CAPTI Report
A new human rights report has raised serious concerns over alleged police brutality in Imo State, detailing how a woman allegedly lost her pregnancy and her father died in custody after an encounter with Tiger Base operatives.
Melody Eberechi Anyanwu lost her four-month-old pregnancy after operatives attached to the notorious Tiger Base—the anti-kidnapping unit of the Imo State Police Command—allegedly assaulted her during interrogation, a human rights report has revealed.
The findings were detailed in a report released on Monday by the Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI), which documented multiple allegations of police brutality and extrajudicial killings linked to the unit. PulseNets learnt that the officers were allegedly attempting to extract information about the whereabouts of Ms Anyanwu’s boyfriend, who was suspected of links to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“During interrogation, Melody was brutally assaulted, with officers repeatedly stomping on her pregnant stomach,” the CAPTI report stated. “She began bleeding shortly afterwards and ultimately lost the pregnancy.”
According to information obtained by PulseNets, the officers reportedly turned their frustration on Ms Anyanwu and her father after failing to track down the suspect.
Ms Anyanwu, who was 21 at the time, was arrested on May 17, 2021, in Emii, Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State. Her 62-year-old father insisted on accompanying her to the police facility to understand the allegations against his daughter after officers allegedly refused to explain the reason for her arrest. He was, however, detained alongside her.
“Both father and daughter were subjected to torture and held in separate cells at Tiger Base,” CAPTI reported. “Melody could hear her father crying through the night.”
Ms Anyanwu told PulseNets that multiple officers beat her and repeatedly stamped on her abdomen until she began bleeding profusely. She later lost the pregnancy. Her father, she said, died in custody five days after their arrest.
The trauma reportedly deepened when she witnessed officers removing his lifeless body from detention.
“She heard another detainee shouting for police officers to come and take away a dead body,” the report noted. “It was only when she saw the corpse being carried out that she realised it was her father. She collapsed immediately.”
CAPTI further disclosed that the police transferred Ms Anyanwu to Abuja in July 2021, where she was allegedly held without charge. Despite still bleeding from the miscarriage and lacking adequate medical care, she was forced to travel by road.
PulseNets learnt that she was later moved from the Intelligence Response Team facility to Suleja Prison without formal charges or a court appearance until September 10, 2021.
“When officers began receiving calls questioning how Melody was sent to prison without due process, they allegedly demanded money before her release could be considered,” CAPTI stated. “She was eventually freed in November 2021, six months after her arrest.”
Ms Anyanwu’s ordeal is reportedly one among hundreds of cases cited by CAPTI, which claimed that incidents of abuse escalated after CSP Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa took over command of Tiger Base in 2021.
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Despite sustained petitions and public complaints, the group said police authorities dismissed the allegations, promoted Mr Adeyeyiwa to Assistant Commissioner of Police, and later honoured him for his service.
“In the midst of widespread protests against Tiger Base operations, Oladimeji Adeyeyiwa was promoted to assistant commissioner of police,” the report said. “In June 2025, he was also awarded ‘Best Crime Buster of the Year 2024’ by the police.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Imo State Police Command had not responded to requests for comments on the allegations outlined in CAPTI’s findings, PulseNets reported.
