Episode 2
“Ellen John kee? You be igbo? He asked. “Yes sir” I answered. “Which
side?” he asked. “Emii in Mbaoma, Imo
state” I answered. “You see your
life, I have lived there for almost 10years and I don’t know any John family, you’re
lying. Tell me your town fast!” he commanded. “Ahah oga why would I lie na, that’s where am from” I said getting
worried. “Besides you can’t know
everybody” I murmured. “What did you
say?” he asked. “Nothing sir”. “How
old are you?” he asked. “22 sir” I
replied. “Bring out your phone, money and
any other thing you are with” he said. I brought out my nokia torch light
phone, 200 naira and placed them on the table. “Haa madam na only 200naira you carry? Women sef, una no dey hold
anything you dey depend of your bobo” the elderly armed man said, laughing.
Feeling embarrassed, I removed my slippers and sat back on the floor. Thinking about
my fate in this mess I got myself into, no Tony got me into and also my ‘longthroat’
for barbecue chicken. “Oya everybody
enter inside, stay there till una enter cell” the ugly armed man said. We got behind the building into an open
space, there we saw two tiny cells for women and men. There were about three
girls and many boys in the women and men cells respectively. I got talking with
Tony, he tried consoling again. I also recognized a guy from school, we talked
about the situation, and he said these men just want bail money that one person
is 20k. I was shocked, how would I get 20k for my bail? Before I knew it two guys bargained with them and bailed
themselves. “You nwaanyi ocha, the tall
girl come” the elderly armed man said pointing at me. Am I going? Maybe they
pitied me, omg am going home, I thought as I entered the building. “Go to that man there to write your statement”
he said. My heart broke, was so disappointed. I got to the table to find
out ‘the man’ was my crush, I put up the seducing slutty side of me, anything
for me not to sleep in that dirty cell of theirs. “What’s your name?” he asked. “Ellen
John” I replied. “How old are you?” “22”
“What time were you arrested?” he asked. “I don’t know”. He writes down something and asked “Were you alone?” “No, came with a guy” I replied. “What do you do?” he asked. “I
just graduated from the university in that town you arrested me from, I came
for clearance and decided to chill with a friend”. He writes down again and
then shifts the sheet to me. I went through the statement HE wrote for me,
shouldn’t I be the one to write it and I realized I don’t know my offence. “Sir, what’s my offence?” I asked. “You don’t know the government said anybody
found outside from 9pm is a criminal and should be arrested” he said. “Haa! Sir as I said before I just entered
town on Monday for clearance, I didn’t know about this curfew” I said
almost in tears. He asked me to sign the statement and asked me to return to
where I was standing. When everybody had finished writing their statements, we
were shoved into our respective cells. I didn’t believe I would enter that
cell, first time in my life to be arrested and put in a cell. Tears rolled down
my cheeks as I held the burglary door as I see criminals do in movies.
Okay now let me describe my
cell experience and cell mates (can’t believe I just said ‘cell mates’). We were
four girls arrested that night, there were three girls in the cell before we
joined them. I was the only one among the new inmates that wasn’t an indigene,
the other three were friends. Now here’s their story, I can’t recall their
names so am going use X, Y and Z. X’s boyfriend asked her to bring her friends
to the bar to chill, she called Y who called her cousin Z. Y and Z were just
arriving when we were arrested. X’s boyfriend and his friend bailed themselves
but had money to bail only one person. He pleaded with X to be bailed that the
next day they would return to bail Y and Z but X refused because she said she
can’t let the people she called to chill with her sleep in the cell alone. Y
supported her, I just minded my business. The other three old inmates asked her
to go because her boyfriend and his friend will not come back tomorrow for them
and that was true, they never came. Well, X’s boyfriend left and we girls ended
up bonding. X asked the older inmates their story, this is what I got from it. They
are prostitutes who work under a woman in one town like that, their ‘madam’
insulted a SARS officer and they arrested them to lure their ‘madam’ to the
station. Apparently, the ‘madam’ doesn’t care about them because she has not
been picking their calls and they have been in cell for 3 days. People are
mean, I thought. It started raining, could this night get any worse I said to
myself. The cell began to stink, the worse of it was that Z was on her period
and had no extra sanitary pad nor tissue. Don’t ask me how I coped. I slept
standing, sitting and squatting, I couldn’t lie on the floor. I was awakened by
a man whose eyes were somehow, can’t describe them. “So you guys are the cultists that has been terrorizing the neighborhood”
he said with his hands in his pocket. “Haa
sir, no o. I am not a cultist” I said. “Babe
take time, which one be I, so na we be cultists. Sir please we are not
cultists, am an indigene and I get family wey dey look for me now” Y said. “Shut up, you guys are going to suffer for
your crimes. You are going to be transferred to another station for
interrogation” he said. Mogbe!!
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