Thaddeus Ojokoh: Freedom at last – it smacks of sheer callousness and man’s inhumanity to man – the cruel, savage, and heartless behaviour that human beings inflict upon one another – that policemen, saddled with the sacred responsibility of protecting lives and properties of fellow citizens could accuse and arraign innocent citizens for grievous crimes without any shred of evidence… Had Justice Eke not been perspicacious enough to see through the vile conduct of the police, innocent citizens would have been sent to the gallows on trumped up charges. His judgement was an act of courage. Many politically correct judges, knowing the truth, would still have played Pontius Pilate. But in him, a Daniel, indeed, came to judgment.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
When they were discharged and acquitted on Friday, October 23, 2026, Thaddeus Ojokoh and Damian Ibeh shed tears of joy, having come back, figuratively, from the dead. Two men yoked together in adversity, they echoed, subconsciously, the “Free at last, free at last, great God almighty, we are free at last” chant.
And you need to hear their story to know why. On April 15, 2023, Ojokoh, a professional tailor, from Umuokirika, Ahiazu-Mbaise LGA, Imo State, was arrested at Afor-Oru market by policemen from the notorious police detention facility called “Tiger Base” in Owerri. He had just left his shop to buy some tailoring materials when armed security men swooped and whisked him away on the allegation that he was a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Then, on April 21, 2023, gunmen struck in Ngor-Okpala, killing seven people – five policemen and a couple identified as Mr. and Mrs. Chinaka Nwagu.
On April 30, the Imo State Police Command issued a statement claiming that “nine suspected IPOB/ESN terrorists” had been arrested over the heinous crime. The nine suspects included Ojokoh, the man they arrested six days earlier.
The police claimed in their statement titled: “Operation restore peace: Imo police arrest nine suspected IPOB/ESN terrorists; including Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala IPOB/ESN sector commander, recovers arms and ammunition,” that they “arrested one Matthew Chukwuma 48yrs ‘m’ of Mpam Ahiazu Mbaise LGA, Imo State, in his hideout at Umuahia, Abia State,” who “confessed to be the Sector Commander of a dreadful IPOB/ESN syndicate in Mbaise and assisted the curious operatives in arresting three (3) of his syndicate namely; Ojoko Ikechukwu 53yrs ‘m’ of Umugwa, Chilaka Charles 44yrs ‘m’ of Umuezuo, and Anthony Iwu 50yrs ‘m’ of Umugwa all in Umuokiria, Ahiazu Mbaise LGA of Imo State in their criminal hideout while others escaped.”
The claim was incredulous, preposterous and beggared belief. How could a man arrested on April 15 and held incommunicado lead a murderous operation that killed policemen on April 21? On May 11, 2023, I expressed my doubts in an open letter to the Inspector General of Police titled, “Travails of Citizen Ojokoh: Open letter to IGP Usman Alkali Baba.”
First, police claimed that the so-called IPOB/ESN Mbaise sector commander, Matthew Chukwuma, was arrested on April 24 and his confession led to the arrest of Ojokoh and others. But Ojokoh was arrested ten days before Chukwuma’s arrest and confession, assuming he confessed the same day he was purportedly arrested.
Not only that, Ojokoh was arrested at the market square in broad day light by policemen who beat him to a pulp, and thereafter yanked his shirt off his bloodied back and used it to blindfold him. When he was abducted by the police, the only thing he had on him was his measuring tape which hung on his neck.
Apparently rattled by the contradictions in their claims which I exposed and the intervention of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), a human rights advocacy organisation, the Imo State police command pivoted. The then Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye, shamelessly claimed that Ojokoh confessed to him that he had been holding a series of meetings with others on how to attack police personnel attached to Ngor-Okpala and Mbaise on April 21.
“As the coordinator, he does not have to be present for the activity to be carried out,” he lied. Okoye further claimed that other IPOB members, including those who were arrested with him, identified Ojokoh as their coordinator. Another unconscionable lie!
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These lies from the pit of hell formed the basis for the nine-count charge that included conspiracy, illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery and murder, which the police preferred against the accused.
But in his well-considered judgement reached after careful thought, thorough evaluation of evidence, and deliberate reasoning, Justice E. N. Eke of the High Court of Imo State discharged and acquitted Ojokoh and his co-accused for absolute lack of evidence.
Did the police extract a “confessional statement” from Ojokoh? Yes, they did. But they could not tender it because they knew how it was obtained and the position of the law on such criminal methods.
Under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, specific procedural safeguards regulate how law enforcement agencies, including the Police, EFCC, ICPC and DSS, must record and take a suspect’s confessional statement.
Section 17(1) & (2) of the Act which deals with the right to representation makes it compulsory that when a suspect chooses to make a statement, it should be taken in the presence of a legal practitioner, an officer from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, an official from a Civil Society Organization (CSO), a Justice of the Peace (JP), or any other person of the suspect’s choice, including a relative.
Section 15(4) further states that where a suspect volunteers to make a confessional statement, the police officer must ensure the statement is in writing and may be recorded electronically on a compact disc or other audio-visual media.
Over the years, there was intense debate because the ACJA Act used the word “shall” for writing but “may” for electronic/video recordings, a conflict which, however, has been resolved in some Supreme Court rulings such as FRN v. Akaeze and FRN v. Nnajiofor that the procedural safeguards were mandatory obligations.
Consequently, failure to record a confession electronically in the presence of a lawyer or chosen relative violates the statutory process and any such confessional statement is inadmissible as evidence in a court of law.
Justice Eke alluded to that in his ruling. Of course, the police knew, the reason they never tendered Ojoko’s ‘confessional statement,’ which was criminally obtained.
Because of the intensity of the torture after his arrest by the soulless police officers from the Tiger Base, Ojokoh passed out. By the time he regained consciousness several hours later, two policemen sandwiched him, one with a “confessional statement,” authored by them, the content of which he had no idea, while the other was behind him, brandishing a cutlass and threatening to sever his head from his neck if he refused to sign. He had no choice but to oblige them.
But it smacks of sheer callousness and man’s inhumanity to man – the cruel, savage, and heartless behaviour that human beings inflict upon one another – that policemen, saddled with the sacred responsibility of protecting lives and properties of fellow citizens could accuse and arraign innocent citizens for such grievous crimes without any shred of evidence. Didn’t ASP Okoye know that he was lying against an innocent soul when he claimed that Ojokoh confessed to him that he was the coordinator of the group? For the three years the case lasted, there was no prosecution witness.
Had Justice Eke not been perspicacious enough to see through the vile conduct of the police, innocent citizens would have been sent to the gallows on trumped up charges. His judgement was an act of courage. Many politically correct judges, knowing the truth, would still have played Pontius Pilate. But in him, a Daniel, indeed, came to judgment.
It is instructive that of the nine accused persons who were paraded for murdering five policemen and two civilians in Ngor-Okpala on that fateful day, only two made it to the courts. Others remain unaccounted for, possibly executed extra-judicially, the same fate that would have befallen Ojokoh if he didn’t have people that exposed police’s unconscionable gambit.
Thaddeus Ojokoh is alive today because people intervened. As soon as the case went to court, one of the most respected lawyers in Imo State, a learned silk and former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri Branch, Emeka Nwagwu, stepped in to seek for his bail, which was graciously granted by Justice Ibeawuchi. His services were rendered pro-bono. Of course, Ojokoh had no money to hire any lawyer whatsoever, not to talk of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Thereafter, another enterprising Owerri-based lawyer, Nnamdi Iwu, handled the case until the no-guilt judgement was delivered last Friday, also pro-bono.
Now, while I am happy that my cousin, Thaddeus Ojokoh, and his co-accused, Damian Ibeh who was in detention for the three years the case lasted, have been vindicated, I am sad that there will be no accountability for the villainous policemen who wilfully framed innocent, poor folks for crimes they never committed.
What is going on at the Tiger Base, Owerri is atrocious. Ironically, it is the anti-kidnapping unit of the Imo State Police Command. But there are allegations that policemen from there kidnap innocent citizens and demand ransom, the same way kidnappers demand ransom from their hapless victims. The base is a torture chamber where youths are dehumanised and reduced to subhuman creatures. Most of the alleged suspects can hardly walk due to severe beatings. With sunken eyes, some can hardly talk. They can only grunt like animals because they lack the strength. It is worse than a concentration camp.
Okechukwu Nwanguma, human rights defender, police reform advocate and executive director of RULAAC has extensively documented and challenged the egregious human rights abuses linked to the base, the latest being the case of Mr. Japheth Njoku who died in custody in May 2025, after severe torture and unlawful detention. A coroner’s court confirmed severe misconduct and urged prosecutions and compensation. Tiger Base officers, who are apparently above the law, defied the orders and obstructed investigations.
Horrified by joint findings with civil society partners which highlighted widespread torture, extrajudicial killings, prolonged arbitrary and incommunicado detention, extensive extortion, forced labour of detainees and enforced disappearances, RULAAC initiated fundamental rights enforcement suits in July 2026 at the Imo State High Court against police authorities and commanders on behalf of victims, pushing for officer prosecutions, implementation of coroner recommendations, and stricter oversight of detention facilities.
It is high time that IGP Tunji Disu paid attention to what is happening at the concentration camp called Tiger Base, which is worse than the murderous escapades of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). For Thaddeus Ojokoh, my cousin, I can only say happy survival.
