I remained inside the bus with a mixed feelings. I thought of the lawyer who could have been trying my line, I thought of my friend who was in the police cell, I thought of how jail was going to look like on him and I started to rebuke it as I was thinking out loud that even the co-passengers sitting closer to me began to look at my face with this kind of “hope this boy isn’t mad” look but I ignored them and focus more on how to see my friend and rescue him.
I got to akure at few minutes to 11am, I didn’t even call or visit my family, I stopped a bike and went straight to segun’s former residence. It took me like 25minutes to get there and I alighted from the bike and went straight inside the compound. I saw a woman walking out from the passage whose face was not familiar to me, “she must be a new tenant there” I thought. I greeted her and asked of segun who was a former tenant of the house, she said she didn’t know anyone who bears that name. I left her and went to “mama sofiyat” door and knocked. She opened and screamed my name “heeee onihaxy, is this your face?, you just stopped visiting us since your friend packed out of here, koda oooooo”. I replied, “its wasn’t like that ma. I wasn’t in akure for a long time now, even before segun moved out of here, na lag I dey”. “Its true sha, Boda segun said it when I asked of you from him. So how is work and how is lagos?, what did you bring for me?”. I replied ” so many things ma. But that will be later, I’m still around till next weekend. How is my friend? Please do you know his new residence?”.
Mama sofia replied that she didn’t know it as she wasn’t around when segun packed out of the house. She directed me to the barber who has a shop outside the house. I left mama sofiat and went to meet the barber. He greeted me and we exchanged pleasantries. After a long conversation, he gave me segun’s new address and I thanked him.
I stopped another bike and gave the bike-man the address, he charged me N200 and took to the place. I dropped at the front of the compound and went to the house, it has a black gate and appeared more decent compared to his former house.
“This must be a self-contain”, I thought to myself as I knocked on the gate several times. A woman came out, opened the gate and asked me who I was seeking for.
” Good afternoon ma, my name is onihaxy, I’m looking for a friend called segun, he stays in this compound”. She replied “oh bother segun?, its been long we saw him ooooo,he just went out of the house one day and no one knew his whereabout. Maybe he travelled, maybe he is still in town?, no one knows, his door is locked and his number had not been reachable”.
“Haaaaa, excuse me ma, was he involved in any crime or was he arrested?”.
” I can’t say oooo, I went to work that day and returned home only to find his absence.”
“Haaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, heeeeeee!!!”
“Why screaming youngman?, hope all his well?”
” Yes ma, just wondering where he would be at the moment”
” Ok, come inside and talk to the landlord, who knows?, he might be aware of his whereabouts”
I followed her inside the compound and I went to the second building inside the compound to meet the landlord of the house, I knocked on his door and the door was opened. I greeted him and he replied me.
ME: good morning sir.
LANDLORD: good morning, how may I help you?
ME: I’m here to see a friend who bears segun, I checked his room and it was locked. So I said I should ask from you sir.
LANDLORD: who are you and where are you from?
ME: from ijoka road here in akure, I’m seyi.
LANDLORD: he is not around and I don’t know his whereabouts.
ME: haaaa!!!
LANDLORD: he had been away since last week thursday and I don’t know where he is at the moment.
ME: sir!!!!, please did you know whether he got involved in any crime or probably got arrested?.
LaNDLORD: ***straight face*** how do you expect me to know?
ME: *** frightened **** I’m sorry sir, thank you sir.
LANDLORD: you are welcome
ME: I will check back later sir. Thank you very much sir.
LaNDLORD: you are welcome once again.
I left there and I was seriously confused and looked so crazy. I walked out of the gate and different thought began to flood my mind.
“What could have happen to segun?”
“What is actually going on?
“He left home for like 7days and no one knew his whereabouts?”
“Or has he been kidnapped?”
” Or he had been killed?”
” Or kidnapped?”
” Or probably in the police cell?”
“Even if he is truly in the police station, which of the stations should I go to?”
” How can I get intouch with the lawyer with a dead phone?”
I continued walking along the street with soliloquies and thinking out loud, I got to a junction was seriously hungry, I looked at the other side of the road and saw a roadside cafeteria and I crossed to the other side of the road. I bought a plate of rice and two meats at the cost of N300naira. I begged the food vendor to let me charge my phone and she pointed at a socket situated at one side of the wall. I took my food and sat closer to the socket and I was charging my phone and eating my food at the same time.
When the phone network was restored. I called the lawyer’s phone and he didn’t pick up until the 4th call.
ME: hello sir
LAWYER: young man, you have been delaying me since morning what is your problem?. I was at the station this morning and was trying your number but you aren’t reachable.
ME: I’m sorry sir, I had a flat battery.
LAWYER: ok, I even tried begging the police to accept the 50k with me but they insisted that it must be 100k. If you aren’t interested in settling this issue out of court again. Just tell me please and let me back off.
ME: I’m sorry sir. I don’t want my friend to go to court sir.
LAWYER: ok, this is past 12pm and I still haven’t gotten any alert. Maybe you should find another lawyer please.
ME: I’m sorry, I couldn’t raise enough money on my own. So I called my brother in akure to arrange the money for. Please sir, I just wanted to ask which station you are going so that he can meet you there.
LAWYER: that is cool. But I am now at home and I can’t go back there without the complete money. I don’t want to look unserious.
ME: so what do we do now sir?
LAWYER: give me his number, I will call him and tell him where to meet me so that we can go to the station together.
ME: ok sir, I will get back to you .
LAWYER: ok, but you just have to be fast about it
ME: ok sir
LaWYER: ***hanged up***
After the call, I began to think of what to do next,
“how do I play this game?”
“I don’t even know the status of my friend”
“Should I risk it and send the money?”
“But this thing looked like a scam”
“But how do I verify if it was when no one could say precisely whether he was truly arrested or not?”.
While I was still thinking, I raised my head up and looked out to the road and I saw an okada man carrying a young man at his back seat who looked like segun from afar. I stopped eating, payed for the food and ran after the bike to see the person clearly.
I followed the bike and I was running after it till it parked infront of segun’s compound. The guy at the back seat alighted from the bike and he was looking so lean and unkept, he turned sideways and his appearance matched that of segun.
“Sege!, sege!!, sege!!!” I screamed from afar and he turned around, saw me and screamed “onihaxy!!!!!!!!”.
I was so happy and joyous as I ran closer to him with tears soaked in my eyes as he drew closer to me. We hugged and exchanged pleasantries.
ME: sege!!!!!!!!!, what happened now?, where have you been?, why are you so rough like this?,
SEGE: my brother, its a long story jawe.
ME: really?, what happened?
SEGE: let’s go inside first.
Segun and I entered the compound as we went to his room, his neighbours were coming out one after the other and they began to ask him several questions, “uncle segun, where have you been?”
“Uncle segun, did you travel?”
“Segun, you just left without telling anybody”
“Segun, what happened to your phone?”
They continued to ask him series of questions which he answered some and ignored some.
We eventually got to his room, he opened the door and we entered. His room was a small single room self-contain with an inbuilt toilet, kitchen and bathroom. I sat down on his bed and he sat beside me. We hugged each other again.
SEGE: onihaxy baba!!!!, how things na? Na your face be this?
ME: na me ooooo. I’m so happy I set my eyes on you again
SEGE: how did you know this place?
ME: when I arrived akure, I went to your former house, I met “mama sofia” and she directed me to meet the barber infront of the house for your new address.
SEGE: oh, ibrahim, that’s true, I know him.
ME: so how far with the police case?, have you been released?
SEGE: **** suprised*** police case?, which
police case is that?.
ME: I was told you were arrested for buying a stolen iphone and would be charged to court next week.
SEGE: me?, stolen phone?, nothing of such happened to me.
ME: ** confused**** are you serious?
SEGE: yes, I’m serious, where did you get this information from?
ME: wait, where have you been for the past one week?
SEGE: na so we see am oooooo, na Kitty-Cat hunting pushed me to camp ooo.
ME: I don’t understand.
SEGE: I meet a very fine and clean girl about 8 weeks back, this girl too clean and fine ehn, she get front, get back and owns a nice deadly curve.
ME: wetin come happen?
SEGE: ok, I approached her and wanted to sign autograph on her pussssy, and she said I have to be coming to her church before she could date me.
ME: hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
SEGE: she dey attend a white garment church. Since I was so determined to drill her borehole, I had no choice than to join the church to achieve my aim.
ME: so what happened next?,
SEGE: in the process of attending the church. She took me to her pastor 2weeks back and the pastor had some visions towards me.
ME: hmmmm. What was the vision?
SEGE: he said death was closer to me and some enemies were trying to kill me. He said I should camp myself in church for 7days without talking to any one on phone, and no one must be aware that I’m going to church. That was how I left home 8days ago.
ME: eeeeyah.
SEGE: so where did you get this information from that I was arrested?
ME: sebi I was at home last week friday, I dialled your line and it wasn’t going through. I continued till wednesday or thereabout and it was still unreachable.
SEGE: ehn ehn.
ME: so yesterday, a guy called me claiming to be your lawyer. He said you were arrested for buying a stolen iphone, and that the phone was stolen with a jeep, and that you will be charged to court on monday
***phone ringing*******. Excuse me segun!!
SEGE: is that the lawyer calling?
ME: no, its adebimpe.
SEGE: ***clears throat*** you and this your bimpe sha. Una still dey run things abi?
ME: I dey come abeg **picked the call and placed it on my ear** hello bimpe
BIMPE: onihaxy, what happened to your line since morning?, have you seen the money?
ME: I’m sorry, my battery was down, I received the alert. Thanks so much dear
BIMPE: you are welcome babyboy. I’m through with that report also. I will send it to your mail later in the day
ME: thanks so much. I so much appreciate.
BIMPE: don’t mention jaree, when will you be coming back?
ME: on sunday
BIMPE: no problem. Bring something for me oooo.
ME: trust me, I will
BIMPE: that’s my baby. Talk to you later dear
ME: alright, bye ***hanged up***
SEGUN: onihaxy!!!!!!, so you mean you still hangout with this evil woman?
ME: no segun. I didn’t talk to her since the day she told me about betty of which you are aware of, but I was forced to call her yesterday to borrow me 50k to pay your lawyer. That was how we got talking again.
SEGUN: 50k? My lawyer?, is it up to that level?
ME: no be small thing ooo
SEGE: and bimpe was aware that the money was meant for me abi?
ME: not at all.
SEGE: sha be careful, that all I will say, so go on.
ME: alright. The lawyer said you are in police custody and that you had been badly beaten and that the police needed 100k to settle it out of court. I told him I don’t have much, he then told me to get 50k and he would get the rest.
SEGE: omo see scam ooo. And why didn’t you inform my family members you have their contacts to confirm from them?
ME: he said I shouldn’t inform any of your family and that you said you don’t want people to be aware.
SEGE: see me see wahala ooo. How could I be arrested and people will not be aware of it?
ME: but what baffled me was that he knew I was in lagos and even told me I work in a bank, just surprised how he got my information,
SEGE: he knew your location and occupation? Then he must have went through my phone to even know your number. So you came all the way from lagos because of me?
ME: yes bro, I didn’t go to work today sef just becos of you.
SEGE: thanks so much bro.
ME: don’t mention jaree. I know you will do more than that for me if I was the one arrested.
SEGE: I’m still surprised sha. Did you record your conversations?
ME: huuuuuh, no I didn’t.
SEGE: chai onihaxy!!!!!!, you bleeped up sha.
ME: no mind me, my mind no dey there.
SEGE: I’m coming, let me bring my phone.
ME: ok.
SEGE: ****stood up, went away and returned**** onihaxy, you won’t believe I met my phone on another spot different from where I dropped it before leaving for church and the funniest thing is that my phone was fully charged before I left, now the battery level is 31%. And my phone wasn’t on security lock.
ME: ***mouth opened wide**** iro ni oooo, how come?
SEGE: onihaxy, its official, someone entered my room and accessed my phone.
ME: so who could that be?
SEGE: I don’t even know. But the only person that has access to my room is tunde, my landlord’s son. He knew where I used to drop my key.
ME: is it only him.
SEGE: yeah. Onihaxy!!, you know what?
ME: what?
SEGE: let me see the number
ME: ******showed him the number***
SEGE: onihaxy, this number doesn’t look familiar to me. Ok, dial the number and placed it on loudspeaker and also use voice recorder.
ME: ok ****dial the number and it was switched off****
SEGE: hmmmmm, I guess the person knows I’m around. But don’t worry, let me save the number, I will get to the root of the matter and get the person.
ME: ok bro. That good.
Segun and I continued to gist about so many things. And before 8pm in the night. Like 2 of his other friends outside ondo state called him to ask about the same police case and they said they paid 30k and 50k respectively to this same lawyer.
.
.
If you’re in Segun’s shoe what will you do if you eventually catch-up with the guy that play tricks on your friend?
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 18
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