Victims – Episode 26
A Story By Rosemary Okafor
“Da yara smaza da aka saki (The boys have been re-leased sir)”
“Dakan su? (All of them)?”
“Dak sai dai wanda a cikin takaddama (All except the one in solitary confinement sir)”
“Allah bless all of us, come over to the mosque anytime you are in Jos…Allah is plea-sed with you”
Imam Husayn alre-ady knew about the new development, the news was first aired by foreign news agencies before it was aired by NTA;
‘there has been a jail break early hours of today, report reaching us from our correspondent has it that some group of hoodlums broke into Kuje prison in Abuja, re-leasing about fifteen inmates while the warders in charge has not been found…’
The plan to set his boys free was hatched three days ago and it was not difficult to get his faithful seated in high places to set the ball rolling.
“One more thing officer…you know I have a personal interest in that Mallam on your custody, watch him closely, monitor who visits him, when and their conversations, and report back to me… He is the enemy of Allah and our enemy too”
The voice on the other side of the Phone hesitated a little, as if it was weighing a decision;
“I don’t know if this will help sir but…”
“Hmm”
“A young Man c@m£ to visit the mallam two days ago…”
This news got the Imam adjusting his seating position and holding the phone firmly to his ears
“yes…why did he visit and what did they talk about?”
“I didn’t pay attention to what they talked about, but they didn’t end the conversation amicably…the young man stormed out of the prison”
“hmm…and you have no idea who this young man could be?”
“Ehn… no sir but… I head the old man call him ‘Son’ and said he wasn’t expecting him”
Husayn gave a mild chuckle and unconsciously combe-d his beard with his f!ngers;
“Hope this is helpful sir…”
“More than helpful Son…”
“Na Gode sir, we are servants of Allah…”
“Allah be praised”
Husayn cut the call and walked back to his room where his new young wife awaits him with trembling. The sixteen years old girl got on her knees abruptly at the sight of the powerful man;
“I will not be nee-ding you this night, I have more important thing to do” Husayn dismissed the girl with a wave of hand
The girl hurried out of the room, she was the third woman he was getting married to, his oldest wife now pla-ys the role of a mother and he couldn’t get himself to look upon her as a wife again nor have her on his be-d. He has s£nt his second wife with the younger children abroad. He would have ignored going for another wife, but the longing for a young and fresh female b©dy on his sheet was so strong that it bec@m£ necessary he fulfill another obligation to Allah by getting himself this girl whose job was to remain on her knees, with her mouth swollen with his c**ck until his milk fills her mouth and he screams and j£rked like he was epileptic.
He was not proud of this p@rt of him, he should have overcome the fleshly lvst by now, and he felt weak whenever he j£rked in front of a little girl. He didn’t remember the first day he had his di*ck su-cked, but he had become a slave to that fleshly de-sire for some time now.
Husayn wiped his face with his palm, pu-ll-ed his robe and abandoned the garment on the floor before he settled himself in the bathtub. He closed his eyes and allowed the cold water to mas-sage his old skin while so many thoughts ran throu-gh his mind
‘Is Umaru alive? Was he the boy he saw some days ago?’
‘Is Yusuf turning against him? Where is he and what is he planning?’
*
Husayn’s young bride heard the new girl screaming again as she was being esc-rted back to the house from Baba Mamud’s shop. She stood in front of the house where the screaming was coming from for a while; the pains in the voice pierced her heart like a sharp dagger, but the two men that walked beside her feigned ignorant of the scream or pretended not to know what was going on.
They knew who leaved in that house and what he was capable of doing. Issa was the most feared of the sect members who were loyal and answerable to the Imam, even the Imam talks about his gruesomeness sometimes.
She resumed her walk when one of the men tugged her to continue back home, but de-ep in her heart, she wished she could do something and save the poor girl tra-pped with that beast without Husayn knowing or putting herself in trouble too.
*
By the next morning she c@m£ to clean the girl up, Ife was coiled with her legs crossed and her b©dy ba-re. One could take her for a deranged woman.
Ife didn’t notice when the young girl entered the room, no when she dropped the bowel of water beside her, but when the girl placed her hand on Ife’s shoulder, Ife j£rked and screamed, shaking like she was in another realm and was seeing a ghost.
No matter how long the girl had wanted to calm the fearful Ife, Ife kept muttering incoherent words to herself, pointing at nothing and cringing to the wall.
By the time the girl managed to clean her up and tried to cover Ife with a wra-pper, Ife refused being covered for she yanked the wra-pper off her b©dy and distanced herself from the girl, looking at her like an enemy;
‘food for the strong
Meat for the powerful.
A Lamb in the darn of lions
A flesh as spoil of war.
Each wound tells a story
Each so-re a thousand stro-kes of the cane
Tearing the flesh they eat their prey alive
With fresh blood oozing out, they positioned their cu-ps
I saw me going into a land, unknown and barren
I felt so invincible with no knowledge of the past
I love this land for it has nothing in it
Just like my mind is turning blank and I don’t want to wake up…’
Ife soliloquized inaudible as she sat on the floor, bu-tt Unclad and rocked herself back and forth. She laughed hysterically and cried at the same time
The girl watched with pity and fear as Ife gradually lost her mind.
*
Yusuf sneaked into the city a week later in the night, he looked at his house from the darkness, ma-king sure he wasn’t seen by anyone. He saw a silver car packed two yards before his house and two men inside while one was leaning on the car smoking;
“Issa” Yusuf muttered
He knew his house was being watched, and somehow his uncle must have known where he went to. It would be very risky trying to go in or contacting his first wife, he must do what he c@m£ for fast and leave Jos before anyb©dy even know he was in town.
He went back into the bush and c@m£ out to another street. The street was deserted but he walked on until he got to Unguwan Rogo, he located the street and the house, the house was in total Darkness, the woman must be asleep by now.
He hesitated a little before he pu-ll-ed out his dagga and walked towards the door.
To be continued
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