How I Became A Convict...

This article tells the tale of my experience whilst growing up, the stigma, challenges and torture I went through as a young citizen in my country Nigeria.

Growing up as a child was tough and challenging as I did not grow up with my parents but at the same time I never lacked good up-bringing as I was nurtured to be a responsible gentleman who is fully dependent on himself and contented with the little that I have no matter what the circumstance might be. I was lucky to have gained admission into the department of Physics, University of Calabar, after successfully completing a one year pre-degree program then known as “Remedial Science” in the year 2006.

I am a child blessed with gift of understanding anything that I devote my time and attention to learn, after my secondary school education, I mastered the art of computer hardware and software as early as 2014, so while in my first year of study I was still working as a computer technician at a cybercafé and still solving problems at my office in Warri, Delta State while I am in school at Calabar, Cross River State because any time there is a problem with our server, a call is made to me and I instruct someone to be in front of the computer and reads whatever information is displayed on the screen, from which I proffer directives to solving the problem(s). During my first year in the University, I joined the Man O’ War and was then a recruit so I had to shuffle in-between staying at the school hostel so I can meet up with my early morning drills which normally starts by 4:00am every Wednesday and Saturday morning and staying off campus with my brother, sister and a neighbor whom we all lived together in the same apartment.

The compound we lived in off campus was an unusual compound as we were always awaken early in the morning with sweet smell of weed, the same happens at different intervals during the day. The landlord of the compound was the youth chairman of the locality and so we are faced with so many strange occurrences which includes; seeing groups of strange faces at our compound day in, day out. Some days, some people are brought to our compound to be dealt with as a result of a crime or offence they committed and we used to experience them being flogged different amount of strokes ranging from Twelve (12) to Twenty Four (24) from the back of a cutlass while being tied to a locally constructed gym chair, sometimes their hands and legs are held by different individuals to enforce the strict punishment on the defaulters. All of this was strange to us but also seen as a culture to them and we used to enjoy immunity from local robbers because nobody dares come to the compound of the youth chairman to steal.

On a faithful morning at about the hours of 3:00am – 4:00am, we were all together in our room reading as we were preparing for our second semester examination with two candles, suddenly we heard some footsteps closer to our room door, a little frightened as they appear to be more than one person. Almost immediately we heard a knock on our door, frightened no one responded and all candle lights were put off immediately, then a voice said, “this is the police, open the door” I was the eldest so I went to open the door and there were Four policemen armed with guns and a lady.
I greeted them and they asked to be shown to the room of a certain named person that the lady with them has just been robbed and she identified one of the robbers to be living in our compound. I was shocked because they could see us clearly that we were students and reading when they came to our door because it was the only room in the compound with light and sign of living being; I answered to the police officer that we do not know anyone by that name and he asked me how long we have been staying in the compound, I told him we have been there for just one year now and he accused me of lying that if I am a tenant in that compound a year then I should know the person he is asking after, in that spite I asked him if he could identify the so said person by another name because I know the faces of everyone in the compound but not all by their names because we do not have anything in common other than the fact that I greet them when I pass by, after a while he said that I should put on my shirt that I will have to follow them to the station and just like that I was taken away from my brother, sister and neighbor to the police station as a detainee. I immediately instructed my brother to scroll to my phone book and put a call through to my Chief Commanding Officer (CCO) in Man O’ War and tell him what has just happened. I went with them as they took me on patrol for almost an hour and then drove me to the station, immediately we arrived, I was taken to the Investigation Police Officer’s (IPO) office where I was tortured with the baton and my statement altered without my knowledge, shortly I was thrown into the cell for the first time in my life without any justification.

I was given the usual welcome salute by the hoodlums and criminals who were already there and at the break of dawn because I was in the cell, I could not keep track of time, when my CCO came to visit me, I was shocked when he told me that the DPO said he is personally interested in my case as the statement submitted by my IPO was that I was aiding and abetting a criminal, after much tussle he had to leave because he was also a student but in his final year of study and he instructed his Second in Command (2-IC) to follow up the case. If not for the power of God and his special grace on my life, I knew then that things would’ve gotten out of hand. I spent three nights at the police cell, filled with anger I could not eat or drink anything, the condition of living there was like hell but there are some good moments I experienced as I slowly climbed up the ladder of leadership and was watching new cellmates being welcomed. The Kingpin “Marshall” in the cell was in good terms with the officers at the counter as he sends them on errands with money he forcefully collected from new cellmates as house rents. After a few minutes of my arrival, the Marshall asked me why I was arrested and I narrated my story to him, he asked me the compound that I lived and I told him and that was how I got on his good side because he has very good knowledge of the person that the police came to look for.

After three horrible nights in the police cell, I was granted bail on grounds of my exams in a couple of days of which I was to report to the IPO’s office every day after my exams by 2pm, this happened for almost two weeks until I was asked to pay another amount of money to close my case files and that was how my terrible ordeal came to an end and though I was present at the examination venues, my performance was affected because I tend to think a lot and that influenced my psychology/mentality about the Nigerian Police up till date, now every time I see an officer on uniform my heart skips a beat because I fear that he can arrest me without any reason and prosecute me even without justification.
This was how an innocent, hardworking young man became a convict while the case was never followed up, neither was the police back to my compound to look for this very guy in question up till date… This left a big scar in my personality as I now lack confidence in the Police’s ability to implement justice or protect innocent lives and properties of civilians.