Chapter 3

The DPO stared at me with an astonished look as his thin eyes scoffed me. I believed he thought I had gone mad or something, but all the same, he kept silence and chewed over my request with a frown.

‘ Excuse me, officer, can you lend me your phone for a minute, I need to show you something,’ these were the exact words I had said when I requested for his phone. The question threw him off balance, and his thin eyes screwed up in a frown as he swept off his phone from the table and then stared unfriendly at me.

‘ Come my friend, are you mentally okay? What do you need my phone for? Or does it look like the one you reported stolen from you?’ he demanded angrily.

‘ No, officer, this is not my phone, I just wanted to show you something from the internet,’

He glared at me suspiciously for some seconds and then surprisingly handed me the phone. I took the Samsung mobile soft screen phone and using my proficiency; I quickly opened the Google browser, typed my name and searched for my profile. I displayed my internet profile proudly to him to his astonishment. I watched him as is thin eyes recognized my smiling photo from my twitter account and then back at my real face before him. He then let out a mischievous grin as he read through the content.

‘Okay, I now believe who you say you are, but you still need to understand our situation,’ He finally hissed out reluctantly. ‘Look, Mr. Journalist, some people are more powerful than us in this country. What exactly do you expect me to do with such a powerful rich man with all his big connections?’

I listened to his babbling with a frown, and then finally grinned broadly at him. ‘Okay, officer, I understand your predicament and tight situation. Don’t worry, I will handle him myself. I am a journalist with training on how to professionally handle powerful people. All I need from you is his full details. I want his full names, background and occupation. That is all. I will carry on from there.’ I told him still grinning.

He thought over my statement, calculated my threat, and then finally shook his shaved head in a disapproved manner. He stared thoughtfully at me, returned to his desk and pulled out a file. He stared through the content and to my surprised handed it to me.

‘’ Okay, take, read and write what you want and hand it back, I will give you five minutes.’ He said, lit a cigarette and stared more suspiciously at me with his tiny cop eyes as I jolted down the relevant information with my pen and paper. I told myself that it was now important to fight back this powerful enemy who seems to frighten everyone around, including the police.



*******
Using my experience and connection as a shrewd investigative freelance Journalist, I went to work on the issue the next day. I lied to some of my colleagues and neighbours who were curious and worried over my battered frame that I had a bike accident. Although I knew most of them did not believe my story, but there was nothing they could do to get the real story out of me. So they left me to my pains, but gave me all the necessary support they could offer.
I got to know the name of my tormentor as James Agindingbi, alias Vitamin, few days later as I dig into my links and connection in the media world. He called himself a successful businessman with vast interest in import and export of various homemade and foreign goods. I got know he lived in one of the most expensive and exclusive mansions in the estate and ride some of the most exotic cars in the whole city. Information available to me indicated that he has strong connection with some high profile who-is-who in the country and bedded some of the most beautiful women around. Although he was said to be married, but you will always find him with different women at a go; his latest conquest I was made to know was the longest mistress he has ever kept, because he was in love with her, so my sources told me. The most shocking of the information was the news on how he single handedly pay the police in the estate a monthly package and even some military men work under his payroll.

Mr. Vitamin as he was called by all and sundry got his nickname because of his generosity to whoever suited his ego. The talk was that once he decided to give you something he does so with a big heart. Thus, he injects his followers and admirers with some vitamin of cash. Well, all these did not impress me. All I was interested in was how to take my pound of revenge, and to do this, I must find something bad about him. So, I went to work again.
I finally got a break on the fifth day of my private investigation since I began my one man’s exploration and mission in different disguise against this popular but mysterious fellow. I had been to the large estate twice, first disguised as an estate agent. I used the opportunity to explore the estate and get myself familiar with some part of the exclusive domain and its pampered inhabitants. I engaged the service of a local house agent to carry me to the estate with a lie that I had a rich client who was interested in buying a property inside the rich layout. So we both went around the vast estate in search of any structure for sell. It was during the visit that I got to know and saw Vitamin’s massive mansion. It was a four storey building with a penthouse and a rooftop swimming pool. I noted the presence of a uniformed policeman and two other equally dressed civilian characters in private guard uniform who look more like thugs beside the black gigantic gate with a high wall that look like a prison yard.
My escort, a thin, starved looking fellow in his late fifties drove us past the structure in his manageable Toyota and proudly explained the setting to me. He told me the house has several CCTV cameras mounted in strategic positions around and outside the large compound and any curious or unwanted intruder could easily be detected from afar and arrested and dealt with by Vitamin’s boys. I nodded at his explanation with fear and surprise, and then proudly told him I hardly visit a house uninvited which he nodded to and smiled broadly with is nicotine stained tooth. I went back to the estate the second time disguise as an official of the Local Area Council. This time I was alone with a skull cap and a caftan to hide my bruises and frame from recognition. I exploited the large estate, got news and information about the going on around the place and finally concluded that there was something fishy and out of place at the rich estate.
I got to know that seventy percent of the houses in the estate belong to Vitamin and surprisingly nobody could actually pinpoint his source of wealth. All they knew about him is the legend that he is a rich generous business man who invaded the area with his wealth few years ago and bought most of the lands and houses at a go. To me, this was interesting news and a good lead to unravel or unmask him and his source of wealth. I got my break like I said, on the fifth day.
Dressed like an Okada rider (commercial motorcyclist) in a dirty jacket and a weather beaten fez cap, and with a healthy bike I borrowed from a trusted okada rider, I made my way into the estate with a female passenger I had picked along the way. I realized she was a lucky pick later as I dropped her by the estate gates. The lady insisted that I must drive her into the estate but I refused and told her that commercial bikes were not allowed into the estate from my experience.

‘ Who say so? Don’t worry, you’re safe, I work for the boss,’ na we get this estate,’’ she boasted in pidgin.
Her respond in true sense jolted my senses and I became alert, but fain ignorance as well.

‘’Which boss, me I dey fear wahala o, madam,’’ I told her with a doubtful tune.

‘’ Don’t worry, I work with Oga Vitamin, this is an emergency. I will explain to them, just drive in,’’ she persuaded me, as if I needed much persuasion.

The information gingered me as expected and I drove her confidently into the estate. She instructed me to wait for her by the mansion, said something to the thugs and the unformed policeman by the gate who all stared suspiciously at me like foxes inside a trap and then nodded their heads. The lady dashed into the compound and emerged few minutes later. She further instructed me to take her elsewhere within the city and it was during the course of this journey that I struck up conversation with her.
Although neatly dressed, I noted that she was not quite educated. Tall and slim with a mouth much like that of a canary, and corny eyes, she told me she was twenty eight, single and has been working for Mr. Vitamin for close to five years. She explained that one of their staffs was sick somewhere in the house we were heading to and probably dead by now. She cunningly evaded my questions on why the guy was sick or what happened to him; all the same she told me one or two things that rang a note inside my brain.
We finally got to our destination and she paid me off handsomely. I thanked her and drove away. But I was not really gone. I gave myself few minutes, parked my bike close to a Mallam with a cigarette kiosk and other provisions, bought few sticks from him and a sachet water, then excused myself and sauntered back to the street to take a proper look.
The house was an old structure with a massive gate and tall imposing wall. It was the kind of house you can’t get into if you were not taken in. There was no sign of any guard outside, but I was certain someone was inside somewhere watching with keen suspicious eyes. I went past the house casually and noted that it share no fence with any of the other buildings around. I had moved a little bit away when I heard the gate rattled loudly.
I was quick to notice a van with some occupants as they drove out of the compound and headed towards the major road. I dashed back to my bike unnoticed and went after them. I drove from a little distance and followed the van towards an outskirt of the city, and towards a thick bush few distance away from the major highway. I conceal my bike inside a tall mountain of grass and went after them on foot, dodging here and there.
Few minutes later I was confronted with an atrocious scene that explained what the four men inside the van had drove there to do. I watched from my hidden position as the four hard looking men took turn to dig what look like a shallow grave oblivious that I was nearby watching them. They finished few minutes later and I watched them dragged the corpse of an elderly man and dumped it carelessly into the hole and then went about covering the clothed body in native dress with soil and leaves. Satisfied, they got back into their van and drove out of the bush towards the highway.
I instantly knew that I now have something terrible about Vitamin and his gang to nail him with but how to go about it was now the next step. So I drove out of the bush and went to work with a determination and promise to unveil the mask covering the true face of a mysterious businessman popularly called Mr. Vitamin.