Thorns In My Boot

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.