Nigeria, May 14 -- I'm Henry Ifeanyi. I sell and repair video games in New Haven, a suburb in Enugu.

My SARS experience cannot be described as a story. It was a nightmare.

In my 30 years of living, this experience counts as one of, if not the worst.

At about 6 a.m on February 8, 2017, I was forced out of sleep by a loud bang on my door. Six men wielding guns barged into my room, knocking down the door in the process. They ordered me to lie on the floor. I obeyed. I thought they were armed robbers. I had no money in the house and feared I would be relieved of my phone and beaten instead.

The men wanted to know the number of people in the house, and I told them it was just me. They seized my phone and ordered me to stand. They ransacked...