Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 15
It is over two months and not a single person
had come to visit me at the police station in
Agbor. My mother must be worried sick. I had
informed her that I would be back in July but this
is October.
The first Visitor I had was a Lawyer that came to
me a day before I was taken to court for the first
trial, after hearing my story he began to discuss
his fees, he further said he hired the commercial
motor cyclist that brought him to the station, the
Rider is on standby and he will need me to settle
the bills, he further said I would pay three
thousand naira for every court appearance
excluding sundries fees. He was furious when I
told him I had no kobo on me, he left cursing me.
No Lawyer came to represent me the next day at
court and the case was postponed to January
15th 1992. I spent Christmas and New Year
festivals inside the Police cell. Some church
people visited the detention centre on Christmas
day and gave us good food and drinks, I was
getting used to my new way of life, so I ate and
drank to my fill, who knows when I would eat
something good again.
Sergeant Godwin was keen on closing my case
speedily so that he could move on to other
issues in his life. He invited several lawyers to
take up my case but they were all hungry
“charge and bail” lawyers that hang around court
premises looking for documents to endorse for
stipends, these Lawyers made me to wonder if
they really went to school and graduated as
Lawyers! I used to revere Lawyers until I came
across these bunch. One of the Lawyers told me
that his monthly salary was less than one
thousand five hundred naira in 1991, he regularly
needs extra income to augment the numerous
expenses he incurs as a result of trying to meet
up with his social status, “a Barrister at Law”.
I remember a certain lawyer that came to
discuss with me and I saw two bed bugs
crawling up the collar of his Coat, whenever I
remember that scene I laugh because the Coat
was not on the man, rather the man was inside
the Coat, I guessed he borrowed it from
someone twice his size, the man was scraggy,
he was begging me for money for pure water
when he realized that what I needed was a
philanthropic lawyer.
The truth is that I had some money in my
account but I was far away from home, my
cheque book was in Enugu and I did not even
know if my house had been re allocated, I had no
idea of anything happening in the outside world,
whenever I tell all the lawyers about my money
in the bank, their eyes become green, but when I
tell them about the inaccessibility of the money,
their eyes turn red and they leave me in anger.
Sergeant Godwin had to close my case either by
ensuring I go to Prison or I am released; the
later seemed impossible though and I was not
surprised when he came around after our court
session on the 15th January dancing and
humming to himself along the corridor of our
Cells. Because of insufficient evidence on my
side to vindicate me, and because of insufficient
evidence on the side of the police to convict me
for armed robbery, I was put on awaiting trial list
and transferred to Abakaliki Prisons while the
Police continued with investigation.
My O.C told me it was better for me to be on
A.T.L Awaiting trial list than to be sentenced to
death for armed robbery, one thing he did not tell
me was that many people are on awaiting trial
and have been there for ages while many had
died while waiting for their freedom.
I was not able to send message home to my
Mother or Baba Miko, my only friend Saka did not
show up at all, I did not blame him though after
all I almost implicated him. No further
information about Mr. Chike so everything about
the case revolved around me alone. The Konwea
family were happy when they were told by
Sergeant Godwin that I had been sentenced to
life jail at Abakaliki Prison. The madam came to
my cell that evening and rained curses on me
and my generations. I was just laughing because
‘he that is down fears no fall’, my family had
been cursed right from the origin of my being so
she did not need to waste her energy on cursing
me, so she kept cursing as I kept laughing; she
said it would have been better for me to be shot
or sent to the hangman than the life sentence I
got. The Police did not tell her that I was on
A.T.L, they too wanted to be free from the
Konwea family pressure to get justice for their
dead father. When the Madam left my Cell that
night, it then dawned on me that I was in trouble.
I recounted the pain I suffered at the depot, I
recounted the honour I got from the Village when
I returned from depot, and I recalled the honour I
got from Soldiers and Officers during the G.O.C
Cup competition, then I realized that the world
had not been fair to me and my Mother,
whatever Curse my grandfather had placed on
my Parents should not be upon me because I did
not choose to be the offspring of their union. If I
had remained in the Village as a Brick layer I
would not be here today, if I had not planned to
help remove my mother from suffering perhaps I
would not be here today. The bitter truth is that
if my mother had not fallen foolishly in love with
a drunkard to incur her Fathers wrath I would
not be here today! I hated every being that was
part of my existence that night. I cried, I
screamed, I fought with everyone in the cell that
night and consequently I got the beating of my
life which left me bruised and fagged out and I
fell asleep.
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