Jasper and Isaac came in the evening of the following day to see me. They found me in an empty room, with a table and a long benched, a room used for questioning.They brought food, but were asked to eat a portion of it before they could give it to me. The officers had asked me questions throughout that afternoon, and did not give me any food or water to drink.They asked about the messages between Mr. Potter and I. They went through all my details, both on the phone and on the laptop.I wondered what they were looking for that they had not found, and why they had not charged me and taken me to court with any crime.I thought about hiring a lawyer but Officer Michael laughed and asked how I was going to hire a lawyer when I had no money to pay for one.Isaac came to the room in the hotel in the morning before he discovered what happened. He had contacted Jasper, and they had searched for me without knowing where I was taken to.It was this evening that they got the information about m
The lawyer placed the briefcase in his hand on the table and sat on the bench. He was careful to sit in the middle of the bench.“The two of you can seat as well,” he said. “This might and might not take long depending on what your response would be.”I saw the reason why he was charging us so high. I guessed what he eats alone in a month would take one third of the money we are paying him.I sat down on the bench and shifted close to him so that Esther could seat beside me. His size had enveloped half of the bench.“Here is the summary,” he said, and looking into my eyes. “They will drop all charges and you can walk out of this place right now if you agree to forfeit the rest of the money to them. That’s the deal they offering.”He looked at me, and I looked at Esther.“The alternative is for you to disagree and they will charge you to court,” he said. “So, what do you say?”I got up from the bench and walked around the room. I now understood why a lot of our politicians steal from t
I got bail that evening, and I had to admit that the Barrister Edet was probably worth his pay. Of course, I had to bring two highly placed people in the society as my sureties, and they had my passport in case I had to make a bolt for Dubai.Fortunately, my lawyer brought the people to stand as my sureties and they stood in for me.But EFCC held unto my bank account, my cars and the house and my phone.I got to the hotel after leaving the EFFC facility but was told the penthouse wasn’t available for me anymore.“Can I see the manager?” I asked the receptionist.“He is busy,” she said. “Maybe you can come in the morning when he will be less busy.”I smiled.Within two days I had been turned into a liability, into a bad business. It’s the norm that no respectable hotel will want to do business with a man accused of scamming others.“Okay,” I said. “But where is his office so I can see him when I come.”She looked at me with eyes that were unsure.I waited.“It’s the first room by the c
The judge looked like judges do and he had the voice of a judge. He heard all the arguments my lawyer and the EFCC lawyer made patiently until they were done.He turned to me.“Who did you say gave you the money?” he asked.“Mr. potter,” I said.“And you say he was in this country before?”“Yes, sir,” I answered.“How did you meet?”“Through a friend of mine.”“Where is this friend of yours?”“He died, your honor. He was travelling to Europe through the desert and he died on the way.”“Going for greener pasture, right?”“Yes, your honor.”“So, you did not swindle the white man out of his money? This Mr. Potter you talked about?”“No, your honor,” I said. “He contacted me and send the money to me.”“Why didn’t he send it to your friend?”“My friend was already dead by this time, your honor,” I said.“And he gave you two million pounds without string attached?”“I think he had pity on me,” I said. “He had cancer and he probably thought given someone without a job the money was the best
“What are you going to do?” Jasper asked. “You will have to find a way to pay him or convince him that you would pay after the restriction is lifted from the account.”We had gotten back to the house and mom had gone to see her friend in the neighborhood.“I am doing nothing of such,” I said.“What would you do?” he asked.“I don’t know yet,” I said. “But I am not going to give him one third of my money. No one is going to get a dime from me.”Jasper was silent.I thought about how get out of the judge’s trap, but nothing seemed to lead to a positive end. I know if I don’t do what he wants, he will really mess me up; but what was I to do?I know I don’t want him to get a dime from that money—and he is not going to get a dime—but what do I have to do to get out of the trap?I considered making it public, but I knew at the end it would be his word against mine, just the way he had said it.“The problem is that he wants the money now. He is not even giving me the chance to get the money
I drove to Talatu’s house, but she wasn’t there. I found the father and the mother in the living room. “How is he doing, ma?” I asked after I exchanged pleasantries with her. “He is much better,” she said. “He is able to talk a bit. We thank you for all you have done.” “It’s no problem,” I said. “Tell Talatu I am out of EFCC’s custody.” “You had problems with EFCC?” “Yeah; but it’s over. Just tell her that.” “Okay,” I will tell her. “I am sure she would be relieved. That, she wouldn’t be, I thought. But I am happy that I have beaten her at her own game. “Good bye, ma, good bye sir,” I said and walked out of the door. “Good bye,” the mom said. I drove straight to Esther’s house. I knocked on the door. Several seconds went by and then a guy opened the door. “Hello,” he said. “Can I help you?” “Yeah,” I said, wondering if he was Esther’s uncle. “I want to see Esther.” He stood by the door, blocking my way. I looked up, wondering what he was doing. “Could you come back lat
I went home heart broken. I had moved into a three-bedroom apartment in Rayfield that I had bought the previous day.What was I going to do with Esther? I thought. She was my world; I will gladly give all my money so I be with her and so she can marry me.I thought of calling her to convince her, but I knew that she wouldn’t pick my calls. She said we should give her time to think…which was okay. But what if she changed her mind about us and decide to go back to Ken? What was I going to do?The thought alone sends jitters all over my body. I didn’t like what was going on, but I knew interfering with Esther now might lead to my losing her.So, I waited. And it was like waiting to hear a medical report of whether one has a cancer or not. I stayed throughout the day watching the screen of my phone and waiting and hoping that the phone was going to ring.The phone rang in the evening and I jumped up from the settee, looking at the screen.It wasn’t Esther, and the screen read, Private Num
I got to Esther’s house and saw cars packed outside.“Wait here,” I told Isaac. “It might take a while but just wait for me.”“Alright, boss,” he said.I came down from the car and walked into the house. I saw two other husband and wife that I hadn’t met before. They sat looking as gloomy as an English home before a funeral.Mr. and Mrs. James sat on the settee, and I walked over to them, while the other families looked at me. I sat beside Mrs. James.“I am so sorry to hear what happened,” I said.She nodded, but remained silent.Mr. James coughed and looked at me.“Paul, I hope you don’t have anything to do with my daughter’s kidnapping?”“No sir,” I said.This wasn’t the time to admit that it was because of me that their daughter was kidnapped. Emotions would be high and nothing to bring Esther back will be done.“Because since you came into her life, she has been in one trouble or the other,” he said. “I hope your daughter is not in trouble because of you because I will definitely