I've been harassed multiple times by SARS, but one instance I won't forget is in Ibadan. I was in a taxi that was stopped by the officers attached to the Apata division. I was the only young guy in the taxi. Was returning to Lautech then for final year defence. Had a laptop and two phones on me. They told me to come down and the taxi driver was told to leave.

They ransacked my bag and told me to unlock my phones and laptop. I earned living as a writer on freelance platforms. My clients were there. I interacted with them via Skype and email. They said it's obvious I'm a Yahoo boy, despite seeing the nature of the conversation. The WhatsApp conversation that I had with money exchangers had not been deleted. They saw the dollar transactions that I've done, including the ones I did for a friend.

A friend's contact that I saved as Isaac Newton stood out. I helped him exchange money. They insisted he was a client. They wouldn't let me call. Knowing that I was a Lautech student didn't help matters as well. They already tagged them as fraudsters. Long story short, they asked for money or they'll file my devices as exhibit from armed robbery. They asked for receipts of the devices and that was the only excuse they needed.

My fear that day was that I had over 700k in my account that I needed for a car transaction. But I told them all I had in my account was 11k and it was for my project in school. That was after they asked for 40k. Eventually, I told them to pity me, that I could spare 8k. They agreed after several haggling.

There was the issue. I couldn't just withdraw. They were with my phone and they would have received alert, showing my balance. I hesitated. Went out for more than an hour. Unsure of what to do, I loitered around the bank. I borrowed someone's phone to call my parents. I went back to the bank and told them Atm didn't work. Na so dem vex. They turned off my phone and said we were going to meet the dpo that I was holding stolen items. I quickly pacified them. I had gotten what I needed. I withdrew the money and paid them.

After I got my Items, I got on the bike and a different set stopped me at Iyaganku junction. That's how hard man just broke down inside their station with tears. It was the same search and same story. I even tried explaining that I just got out of detention in another station but that was rubbish to them. It was my dad that spoke to them this time and got me out. The other set told me to tell my mum that I was okay after she kept trying to reach me -- that I shouldn't tell them I was detained.

Those people are just terrorists in uniforms. Even if you live legitimately, they'll find something to hold you.

Share yours, if you can.

I really avoid problems on my life.


After all, wetin concern Tuface and barber?

Thanks to sane Nigerians who kept their voices at the highest level to shut the many evils of SARS...SARS is now gone, it's now past tense.

You most be a yahho!