#ENDSARS

On police brutality and the fight for justice.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

And so, it begins…

Wednesday, October 28th 2020

7:58 am

Frank Idehen, 32.

“I’m at Abule Oja, parked a few blocks from Temi’s hostel. Please, come pick me up, I can’t drive any further. I’ll share my location on WhatsApp.”

That was Ms Chidinma Adefila-Adda, my friend and colleague at work. I could barely hear her over the phone, but one thing was sure — she was not faring well. I left the office to her location; I boarded a bike since I was going to drive her car. I got there but spent extra time looking for her. She usually drove a red SUV, it was a gift to her on her recent promotion, but there was none in sight. I called her back and requested she put her hand out. Oh! She drove a different car today, a smaller one, I’ll ask her about that later.

“Chi, wetin happen? Na rush I rush come here so, your call just fear me anyhow. Ah, you dey cry? Chi, talk to me, abeg…” 1 I asked numerous questions in less than a minute. She wiped her face, sniffled, and chuckled slightly, “Which one you want make I first answer? You just bombard me” 2 A few more tears trickled down her eyes as she recounted her experience. A SARS officer stopped her on Monday night, as she drove home from work. “Madam, stop, park, where are your particulars?” She showed them, smiling and asking them how they were, in an attempt to make a conversation; she was confident she did nothing wrong. He barked at her, “Come down from the car!”. “Oga, I no do anything nau, why I go come down?”, 3 she replied, boldly. He laughed and turned to his partner, “E be like say this woman no know who we be.” 4 Fidgeting, she opened her door and got down from the car. They asked if she was married, and she replied in the negative. They asked different questions, where her husband was, where she was coming from, why dressed so elegantly, and how got the car. “I’m just heading back from work sir. I got promoted at work recently and was gifted this car, sir.” They looked at each other and smiled, one of them said: “Okay, you go follow us reach our station. As you no wan talk true na, you no wan confess say na steal you steal the car. Abi you and your boyfriend dey do yahoo.” 5 She tried to explain herself, saying that they had no arrest warrant, and she wouldn’t follow them anywhere. “E be like say you wan too stubborn, I go shoot you here now, and nothing go happen. Who you think say you be? You think say we dey follow you joke?” 6 the officer said while cocking his gun. She started crying and decided to obey their instructions.

At the station, they forced her to write a statement that she stole the car, and she was on her way back from a robbery operation when they caught her. She was beaten and touched inappropriately by other officers. They then requested she gave them five hundred thousand naira before they could release her. They denied her the opportunity to call someone. After about an hour of back-and-forth, and showing them her account balance, they accepted her offer to transfer three hundred and twenty thousand naira.

She comes to the office three days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays excluded, so she spent yesterday treating her wounds and crying. Driving past that spot this morning, she had a flashback of Monday night and had a panic attack. She parked and could not move any further; that was why she called me to come.

Wednesday, October 28th 2020

8:19 pm

Mrs Adebisi Adams, 28.

My husband is not expecting me. I travelled a week ago for an official assignment; I did not tell him I would come home today. I mean, who doesn’t like surprises? I met a deafening silence as I entered the house. It’s just past 8 pm; he’s usually watching the news at this time. I walked into the room we shared and saw him sleeping, very unusual. He’s probably missing his baby. I knelt on the bed and wrapped my arms around his waist, but he pushed away roughly. He shook his legs and arms continuously; He screamed with tears rolling down his face, “Please, don’t kill me. I’m a Data Analyst sir, that’s why I’m with a laptop. No! I did not steal from anybody; I’m not a yahoo boy. Please, can I call my wife? Please don’t kill me. I don’t have any money. Ah! Oh! Ouch! Ye! E jọ e ma pa mi! 7 Okay, I will give you the money, don’t ki…” I held his shoulders and shook him repeatedly until he woke up.

He opened his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw me. Hugging me and shedding more tears on my shoulder, He told me about his encounter with a SARS officer. He had walked me to the park that morning and was on his way to his friend’s place when the officer — A. Jide — stopped him. Officer Jide called my husband a yahoo boy because he held a laptop and asked him to unlock his phone to show his account balance. The officer drove him to the ATM to withdraw all he had, and then let him go. That was after several rounds of beating to force him to say that he was, indeed, a fraudster.

He said he wanted me to arrive before telling me, as he didn’t want to ruin my trip. Typical Adams, always looking out for others before himself. Days have passed, weeks too, but my husband has not gotten over the incident. He flinches every time I touch him, and on some nights, he wakes up screaming “Don’t kill me, let me call my wife.”

Thursday, October 29th 2020

6:21 am

Uduak, 20.

“Please, I beg you, no dey outside for night. Mama Emeka come house yesterday dey cry say Emeka dey station. He no do anything, SARS just see am for road carry am. They talk say na him kill one person, and no be him o! Them say make Mama Emeka go cook come, and make she bring hundred thousand naira before them go release am. Where she wan see that kain money, Uduak? She don dey cry since morning. Abeg o, Uduak, dey jeje o. No waka for night, no follow anybody fight. You don cut that dada hair wey you carry for head? Ehn, Uduak! I dey beg you, you know say na only you I get. Make them no go carry you because of your hair, you know say na wetin them do Jerry that time be that, wey them finally kill am.” 8

Yea, you guessed right, that was my mum. She is fifty-eight years old. Recently, she started worrying about my daily movement and hairstyle. She would call at past 7 pm to ask about my whereabouts. This week, she has called me at least twice a day to ask about my dreads and when I’d be taking them out. In her area, there has been rampant unjust arrest and extortion of young boys, especially those with dread and tattoos, so she’s looking out for me. That’s the situation with insecurity in our nation these days. Mum has said “Be careful of the police” every day for the last ten days. The Irony! Imagine being scared of those who are supposed to protect you. Don’t stress your mind, look around you; it happens daily.

Thursday, October 29th 2020

7:22 pm

Garba, 28.

How do you temporarily block your ears? My neighbour has been ranting all evening. He finally got a taste of his medicine and wants to bring down the building. Why is he angry? He is a police officer, a member of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. On countless occasions, he has bragged about his daily earnings. He recounts how he holds young boys and girls hostage until they can cough out an outrageous amount of money. When we express concern and empathy about people’s experiences -extortion, torture, rape, and murder- that we see on the internet, he justifies the acts. He says they must have done something to deserve it, or that they probably looked dangerous.

This afternoon, his sixteen-year-old son -Oliver- was stopped on the road for owning an iPhone. Mind you; he bought the iPhone for Oliver using some of the money he got from extorting innocent individuals. They beat Oliver severely and then asked him to transfer the amount in his bank account that was for his school fees. They collected the little cash he had on him too. He walked home from Ketu to Onipanu, sadly.

“What nonsense! What is the meaning of all that rubbish? Why did they do this to my son? How will I get the money for your fees before tomorrow morning?” Let’s just say that he now understands how much pain he puts people through. Maybe, just maybe, this would stop him from perpetrating evil.

Incomplete families.

Shattered dreams.

Wasted talents.

Broken people.

Debt-overwhelmed individuals.

Struggling brands/firms.

Hurting hearts.

Disfigured limbs.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This is why we shout; this is why we ask for a change.

#ENDSARS

Glossary

1 ”Chi, what happened? I rushed here because your call got me scared. Why are you crying? Chi, talk to me, please…” (Pidgin to English)

2 “Which do I answer first? You bombarded me with many questions” (Pidgin to English)

3 ”Sir, I have done nothing wrong, why should I come out?” (Pidgin to English)

4 “It seems this woman does not know who we are.” (Pidgin to English)

5 “You will have to follow us to the station since you have decided not to tell the truth. You have refused to confess to stealing the car. Are you and your boyfriend internet fraudsters?” (Pidgin to English)

6 “You are stubborn. I will shoot you here and nothing will happen. Who do you think you are? Do you think this is a joke?” (Pidgin to English)

7 “Please, do not kill me.” (Yoruba to English)

8 “Please, I beg you. Do not stay out late. Emeka’s mother came here yesterday in tears saying that Emeka has been detained at the station. He did nothing wrong, some SARS officers saw him on the road and arrested him. They claimed he killed someone, whereas he did not! They asked his mother to cook for them and also bring one hundred thousand naira to secure his release. How is she supposed to get that amount of money, Uduak? She has been crying all morning. Please, Uduak, be careful. Do not move at night nor fight anybody. Have you cut off your dreadlocks? Uduak! I beg you; you’re my only child. So they don’t arrest you because of your hair, you know that’s what they did to Jerry the other time.” (Pidgin to English)

© Nimi.

October 2020