19/20
ZAINAB
Chapter 19
….
I was shocked to my bones when I saw Sani, apparently he was the one Ahmed nee-ded to defend,i managed to pretend all was okay,I just wanted to know, whether Sani recognises me or not….
I walked closer to them, Ahmed hvgged me beautifully as usual, and gladly introduced me to Sani
“meet my fiancee, while he was trying to mention my name, I quic-kly cut in and said
“yes his fiancée Bunmi
oh nice meeting you Bunmi, he said, I am Sani,(I alre-ady know, you bastard,) I said within me
“your face looks familiar “he added
oh nice meeting you Sani, and as for looking familiar, I get that a lot,I seems to look like so many people,as people keep mistakening me for someone else,I just have one of those faces “I said Ahmed was still shocked as to why I changed my name,but thankfully,he didn’t address me by my name.he rushed whatsoever he was doing with sani and offered to drive me to the park.
Immediately we got out of the police station,we both co incidentally asked, why did you change your name,and what’s that bastard doing there, respectively, you go first ZAINAB, “what is that bastard Sani doing there? I asked by now I had tears flowing from my checks, and my heart beating fast,all the memories from my past with Sani c@m£ rushing back. Ahmed held me,did you say Sani,I mean Sani from your story? he asked
yes,yes yes, that was the bastard,the bastard who nearly ruin my life,and left me to die,
what???? Ahmed shouted
how dare he, what’s he doing here? I asked again
he’s here for S-xual as-sault and m©l£st@t!on,his housemaid had accused him of ma-king her a S-x slave when ever his wife was not around, it’s obvious he did it,but he offered to pay so much,and especially since the maid doesn’t have a concrete evidence,it will definitely be difficult to nail him to the crime,but I must deal with this bastard” Ahmed kept shouting
calm down Ahmed, you said he had paid so much,are you willing to lose that much because of my past? I asked
I am re-ady to lose much more,to make that bastard pay for doing all that to you, oh he will pay, I hvgged him ti-ghtly, I have found a protector indeed. lets go, it’s getting late ZAINAB
don’t worry dear,the trip home is cancelled, Sani is the newest trip now,we both laughed and drove back home….
“My God,you don’t mean it,it’s really a small world indeed “Mrs Chioma said, after she had heard all that happened.and to think that the bastard is still going on with his evil act for over a decade.who knows how many people may have fallen victim of this evil act…Mrs Chioma said.so what are you going to do now Ahmed, handle your fiancee’s case or defend her abuser
oh mummy,I had long promised to deal with that man whenever I find him,and I am not going back on my words., this is what we shall do.
I shall pretend to be his lawyer for now,then few days to the hearing,I shall look for one excuse or the other way I can not defend him,and replace myself,with one of the worse lawyer’s there, so that he won’t have much time to look for a good lawyer but accept my recommendation. meanwhile, we would have spoken to the girl’s lawyer, telling him we have evidence to help his case, Mrs Chioma, plea-se we will nee-d your help, you were the one who found ZAINAB,hence you might be called upon,even the hospital were she was later admitted and treated,we shall be meeting with the doctor,for medical reports and persuade him to be in court”Ahmed said
“woowww Ahmed, you are really a great lawyer, Sani wouldn’t even know what hit him….
I went with Ahmed to see Sani the next day,of course, all a act, Sani not knowing what had befallen him, was very happy to see us
“oh welcome barrister and your beautiful fiancée Bunmi.we greeted him too wearing fake smiles,oh de-ep down my heart,I felt like devouring this man.while we were with him,his wife and son c@m£,they had to call of thier vacation because of him, he actualy still married the lady of that time, “barrister plea-se save my husband, she was crying profusely, my husband is innocent, he’s a good man, plea-se barrister she kept saying,,,I looked at her,and shook my head at her ignorance….
Days had gone into weeks,and the case was just few days to go,when Ahmed told Sani he couldn’t handle the case,that he had some family matters he was attending to, but he shouldn’t worry he has a good replacement, who is as good as himself, meanwhile that p@rt was not true, Sani bought the story,while Ahmed got a good lawyer to handle the girl’s case,he decided not to handle the case himself, because they could say he c@m£ as a set up from the beginning…
The case started,and everything was working for his favour, as the girl doesn’t have a good evidence to back up her case,but the lawyer went forward to say, this wasn’t his first act, he had been abusing several other girls, he then call upon sani’s wife for questioning
“did any girl by name ZAINAB,worked as a maid to your husband then your fiance, some years ago?
“yes,she answered
okay Mrs Sani, describe ZAINAB in your words…
Well, ZAINAB was a young adult,who seems to always have a lot in her mind,she was going throu-gh something,but wasn’t willing to share,she was a very good girl, obe-dient and respectful
Mrs Sani, did you notice that ZAINAB wasn’t leaving the compound when you c@m£ visiting then
yes I did, but Sani told me he doesn’t like her going out because she wasn’t used to Lagos, once he tried to let her out, she almost went missing
so did you ask your husband about ZAINAB when you didn’t see ZAINAB anymore
“of course I did, and he told me that she had gone back to her people
okay Mrs Sani,tanks alot for your time,the lawyer continued,I would like to pres£nt my witnesse to this honourable Court, portraying my point that Mr Sani has been a long time abuser, ZAINAB Aliyu,, Mr and Mrs Sani were shocked to thier bones, they didn’t know I was ZAINAB, even though Sani said my face was familiar, he didn’t imagine the ZAINAB he once treated like a piece of rag could become this sophisticated lady, after the normal procedure of pledging to speak the truth and nothing but the truth with the Quran, I was in for questioning
miss ZAINAB, can you plea-se tell us what you know of this man Mr Sani “the barrister asked
I am ZAINAB ALIYU, and I was a S-x slave to Mr Sani for about a year, am the same ZAINAB that mrs Sani just spoke about, unfortunately Mrs Sani referred to me as a Maid, but the truth is that, Mr Sani c@m£ to my hometown with some friends who he introduced as family and got me married, only for me to discover when I got to Lagos that everything was fake to him, he just made that so that my parents would allow me go with him to Lagos, with of course the help of my uncle, I bec@m£ a S-x slave to him, he will wipe me and make me cry shout and scream before he had S-x with me repeatedly, I was practically living in bondage, but I could not go back home since he locks me inside the house whenever he was going out, it was an horrible experience, no one c@m£ to my rescue, after about 10 months or so, I bec@m£ pregnant with a child for him, meanwhile he had alre-ady told me he didn’t love me, the marriage was just to bring me to Lagos far away from my people, and make me a S-x slave, meanwhile he had a fiance then which is his wife today, I was just for his plea-sure, I was abused severally.
When he found out I was pregnant, he was very angry and told me I was going to terminate the baby, I pleaded with him to let me keep my child, but he refused and gave me some drug to take, after taking the drugs I started to bleed, I bled for hours, until I finally pas-sed out, then I guess he carried me in the trunk of his car and abandoned me by a path, where someone found me by name Mrs Chioma.
“thank you very much miss ZAINAB, my Lord,I would like to call on my next withesss Mrs Chioma, Mrs Chioma narrated to the court how she saw me helplessly bleeding, the doctor also testified as been the medical personnel who attended to me, with some medical history to his claim…
Mrs Sani was even shocked as to how heartless her husband is, she was speechless, Sani bowed his head in shame,he knew the game was up. we all turned to the judge awaiting sani’s fate…
Chapter 20
After all the evidence against him, it was proven beyond all reasonable doubt that’s Sani is an abuser, a long time one at that, the society do not nee-d people like you, no female child is safe with you, not even your own daughters, how can a man be this wicked, you even went as far as faking a marriage just to accomplish your evil de-sire, that is not accepted in our today’s society, you are mean and wicked, you are a disgrace to man-hood, the society and your family, haven listened to all the testimonies , it has been proven that Sani is guilty. you are hereby s£ntenced to 25 years in prison with ha-rd labour.
He cried and was begging no one in p@rticular, his wife had a missed feeling, whether she should be angry at him for all his atrocities or to be sad that he was going to jail, she just stood and watched him taken away, I was very happy not just for the girl but for myself, Justice has been served at last.
While I was walking out of the courtroom, I felt a hand t©uçhed me, turning back it was Mrs Sani, ZAINAB, she hvgged me, I reciprocated the hvg as tears flowed down my eyes
why didn’t you tell me Sani was heartless. You went throu-gh all this in that house, and you couldn’t speak to me all the time I c@m£ visiting, if I had known he was a beast like that, I wouldn’t have ended up with him, and I would have saved myself this shame and humiliation
I am very sorry ma, I was naive, and threatened, he told me he was going to kill me if I told you anything, he wanted to look perfect for you, and also I had no one in Lagos
it’s ok I un-derstand, but I’m very very happy and proud of the great woman you have become
thank you very much ma’am I am grateful, all thanks to Allah and Mrs chioma. While we were talking the little girl who was the victim c@m£ to me and her mum
thank you very much ma, her mother said, this wouldn’t have been possible without you, may Allah reward you abundantly
oh it’s nothing ma, women should always stand and defend each other, especially in cases like this, I was a victim and I know exactly how it feels, I am so happy that victory is ours and justice has been served, while we were still talking, Mrs Sani, held the girl’s hand
“Aisha, I am so sorry, I never knew all these were going on un-der my nose, you may not be my child but I would have defended you if I had known, I am very very sorry, forgive my negligence
madam, I hold nothing against you, I know you were not aware, you are a good woman all the time I worked with you, you treated me like a daughter, you bought me good clothes and shoes, I hold nothing against you ma
“thank you very much Aisha, this means a lot to me I am grateful, they had a hvg, it was an emotional time, I shall be filing for a divorce immediately, and leaving that house, if you do not mind Aisha, I would want you to still live with me, so that I can help you actualize your dream, plea-se do not say no, that’s the little I can do for all you went throu-gh
I’ll be very grateful living with you again ma, like I said before you are a good person
thank you very much my sister, the girl’s mother said, in appreciation to Mrs Sani
oh it’s nothing all thanks to Allah. We exchanged contacts and then they left.
I turned to Ahmed, thank you very much, all these wouldn’t have been possible without you, I am forever grateful
oh come on ZAINAB, st©p being a drama queen, I’m glad I could help
and you ma, talking to Mrs chioma, I am very very grateful for everything
you are welcome my child, thank you doctor, thanks for ma-king time from your busy schedule, it’s nothing dear, people like that in the society, deserve to be behind bars.we all went home and had a little celebr@tion.
After some days, it was time to visit my family, I decided to go during the weekend, but on Wednesday night of that week, I couldn’t sleep, I was having this urge, to go home, something seems to be dragging me home, so I decided to leave on Thursday morning, I placed a call to the driver, who l had told weekend earlier, to come very early the next morning for the journey. So very early on Thursday morning, we embarked on the journey. We arrived very late at night, getting to my house, nothing has really changed, the dil@pid@t£d old building was still there, but nob©dy seems to be home, I wondered where they would have gone as it was late, so I decided we looked for another place to sleep, thankfully we saw a small guest house towards the end of the community, we drove there and spent the night.
The next day, we got re-ady and went to my compound again, nob©dy seems to be in the house yet again, thankfully we saw someone we could ask, who told us that my mother was sick, and had been taken to old mama Sukurats, I still remember the way to mama Skurats place, I directed the driver, and we got there. I saw baba my father, and my youngest brother, discussing outside wearing long faces
As-salamailekum “i greeted
wa alaikum Salam, he responded, you seems to be looking for someb©dy?he asked, I was shocked to my bones that my father couldn’t recognize me, what has life in France done to me that I look so different, money can really change anyone, it may be my skin is glowing brighter, or the clothes I was putting on, I sighted my mother laying on the floor, indeed mother’s are supreme, immediately she saw me, amidst the pains she was pas-sing throu-gh, she called,Hi peacemaker +2348037873157 to be added you to the platform ZAINAB my daughter…
Haba Fatima, you have started again, this is not ZAINAB
I am sorry my child, she has been longing to see our daughter, who left for over ten years, unfortunately, she’s dead, but my wife has refused to accept that, she probably mistook you for her, I am sorry
“baba it’s me, ZAINAB your child,, I left him as he stood speechless and ran to mother, though she couldn’t stand to hvg me, I could see the mixed feeling of love,and apology in her eyes, h0t tears were rolling down her cheeks, mother I have greatly missed you
I have missed you so much my precious daughter, I knew you weren’t dead, I knew you were going to come back for me, my daughter ZAINAB,I am sorry I wasn’t able to depend you from all life’s evil, I failed you as a mother, I am sorry, she said faintly,
“no mother, you didn’t,you did all you could, I saw you fought for me in your own way, I know your wish for me was to become a great independent woman, your wish is to see me be a medical doctor, mother guess what, I did, I made you proud despite all, I am now DR ZAINAB “I said and she managed to smile
oh my daughter, thank you for not giving up, I can now die in peace, I waited this long, just for you,,,,
No mother, you can not die, you can not leave me, I shall do all I can to make you okay, I shall take you to the big and beautiful city, I shall even take you to other countries of the world, you just can not die now.
my child ZAINAB, seeing you successfully, Is all I ever wanted, and do not forget that.
TBC