As I raced through the stairs of the Federal High Court building that fateful Wednesday morning, I couldn’t help but continuously beat up myself in my heart for arriving the court so late. Being in court at least 40mins before 9:00am was my mantra even while I was still a law student. It helps me comport myself and stay fresh before the court session starts. But here I was gasping for breath because I chose the wrong day to finish the last episode of my favorite TV series the night before. Now I know I am no super woman because nature pushed its luck and I woke up by 7:00am on a court day… sighs!
I dashed into court 2 immediately I got upstairs, did the routine genuflection and squeezed myself into the last seat at the bar section. I quickly started my routine recitation of Psalm 23 in my heart (a personal ritual I do once I step into the court as a Christian). While doing my silent recitation, I could sense it in me that someone was staring at me non-stop. The judge of course, I guessed. ‘Oh Lord, please make this man to stop staring, na late I come, I no kill person’, I murmured. I gradually, brought up my head and realized that My Lord wasn’t even looking my direction. Ahan…, who then? Or was it anxiety? I shrugged it off and brought out my phone to get the updates of our case from my co-counsel.
While closing my bag, our eyes locked each other. There was the eye staring at me all along. My breath paused for a second. I have not handled any criminal matter recently. Why is a prisoner staring at me that way Lord? Who did I offend in this noble profession? I shrugged it off again and started going through the updates for our case. Our case was number 5 on the ‘cause list’ and thankfully the judge was still on case number 2. So I relaxed in and started re-studying my case file. I peeped through my corner eye again and realized that this prisoner was still staring at me. This time around, I became a little unsettled. One of the things I hate dealing with most times in the court room is anxiety. So, I closed my case file and started catching up on the latest gossip on Linda Ikeji’s blog.
About 20minutes or so later, as my anxiety was starting to douse down, I brought up my head again, and this time around, he blew me a kiss; this same prison guy. I became confused at this point. My head spinned 360 degrees immediately. What? So, this guy was trying to flirt with me? A prisoner? God! How? The Audacity! I felt a little bit irritated as well as deeply worried on why he chose me to flirt with of all the female lawyers seated in court. There are just some situations in this life you will never really know how to react to no matter how wonderful you are in life; and I guessed this was one of them for me.
I started staring back at him boldly and he was making many funny faces to show admiration for me that at some point, I advised myself and went back to reading Linda Ikejis blog. I didn’t fail to however notice that he was really looking clean, fresh, handsome and with a very neat hair cut unlike the usual prisoners I see in court on a daily. That notwithstanding, he was in that NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) prisoners’ uniform and shouldn’t be given a second thought because he was onye oshi (a criminal).
I was so lost on one very funny scandal story online that I didn’t know when case number 2 finished and the judge was on case number 3. Suddenly, I heard a very deep soothing bass voice that sounded like the popular Nollywood actor Yul Edochie’s voice answering questions that were being thrown at him by the court. I brought up my head and there he was seated in the witness box in his full glory; the admirer. I became worried as to what this handsome, well-spoken 6 ft guy must have done to warrant him being in those prison rags.
Of course, my curiosity got answers. It happened that the admirer is a banker (albeit currently sacked) who works with one of the top commercial banks in Nigeria. He had a top position and was earning great, but stress was eating him up at his work place, plus other family issues according to him. So, a friend introduced him to drugs as a coping mechanism for his stress and it worked. As the days goes by, he kept upping his intake and gradually, life was good once again for him. He got linked up with the direct suppliers that brings it into his state of residence, so nobody sees him outside pricing drugs. They bring it to his home directly.
10months later, he met some guy at a seat out garden while relaxing outside after work. They got talking and connected really well. They became friends and started hanging out together almost every evening. One day, his new friend opened up his life challenges to him and out of experience he could see that his friend was dealing with severe anxiety like he used to before he started using drugs as his temporary safety net. He talked to his new friend about what he was using to manage his stress and introduced him to it. Now, they were no longer just friends, but real drug buddies that their closeness could pass off as close brothers or even lovers.
Their combined usage of drugs every evening became like a ritual for about 3months or so. One Saturday while they were both chatting off and taking drugs in his apartment with his supplier who came to drop a fresh batch for him, there was a loud knock on his door. He opened and there they were; the NDLEA officers. They nabbed him, his friend and his supplier. It was later that he got a tip off that his friend had been released. All efforts to reach out to the said buddy to come help him was abortive. His lawyer later made him to understand that his buddy was not actually his buddy but an NDLEA agent who acted as an agent provocateur in his life just to gather evidence. He was livid. It was then he realized he had little or next to no knowledge of his supposed buddy who was planted in his life to trail him.
An agent provocateur is an officer whose job is to lure and encourage people to break the law so they can be arrested. When you commit a crime an agent provocateur encouraged you to do or did with you, you are the only one that will get punished by the law. The agent provocateur goes home free because he simply did the job he was paid to do.
Without condoning his resort to the usage of drugs to cope with his stress if his story of what lured him into drug usage was true, I felt really sorry for him. I have encountered many cases that made me cry a few times in practice, but these agent provocateur cases always take the cap for me. They bring to my face the pains of betrayals from people you trust and always leaves my head in a mess most times. Urmmmm… guess you don’t know lawyers are humans too, right? Hahaha… we react to some of these cases o! I scribbled a little ‘allocutus’ (formal statement a criminal defendant whose guilt over a certain crime is clear makes in court to get the mind of the court to have mercy on him or her and reduce their sentence) in a paper and passed it to his lawyer.
To my greatest surprise, he used my allocutus word for word. It was strange to me that he had none, but extremely refreshing and satisfying that I was able to help my admirer in my own little way.
When the court came back from its 45mins recess, the judge started to read his judgment and I was very pleased when the judge gave him six more months additional to the two and half years he had stayed without trial. That means he got a 3years sentence because he was a first-time offender and had very clean records in life. The judge chastised him well nonetheless; and he was led out of the court room.
The court took one more case before my client’s case was called up around 3pm. Luckily or not (because I was exhausted), the counsel on the other side filed a preliminary objection that morning, so we needed time to respond. So, we took a new date for adjournment. The other two remaining matters were quickly dispensed with and the court rose for the day. I was deeply exhausted despite the court not hearing my matter that day. It is not easy listening to other people’s cases in an open court.
I did a few chit-chat with other lawyers and headed for the exit door. On my way out, the warden at the door slipped me a paper at the gate and I threw it into my bag without looking at it as I was deep in conversation with a senior colleague while leaving the courtroom and I also felt it was one of their usual stylish ways of asking you stuffs like ‘anything for the boys’?
Later at night of that same day, while sorting through my bag to organize myself for court the next day, I saw the paper I threw into my bag while leaving the court and surprisingly, it read:
“My lawyer told me what you did for me today beautiful lawyer. I look forward to thanking you properly in person in 6month’s time when I am free.
Signed
The Prison Guy that likes you”.
I echoed ‘Jehovah’ very loudly in my room and sat on the bare floor lost in many thoughts I will not tell you about. Lol… Please don’t ask me if I saw him 6months later. Cheers!