₦airaland Forum

CHAPTER FOUR

Chidi Peterson, a cranky old man, very close to retirement, sat in his office watching the hands of a large wall clock move close to his closing time. At fifty-nine, he looked far older than his age. With a large bald head seated incongruously on top of slim shoulders, he had the appearance of a scarecrow.
Both the inmates and the guards knew him as Headmaster but no one dared call him that to his face. Like a lion, he ruled his territory by tearing down and devouring whoever encroached on his turf.
Today had not been one of Chidi’s good days and it showed on his face. Since he got the order to put Suleman Ade in an isolation cell, he knew something was up but couldn’t quite put his finger on what.
As his closing time ticked closer, he became more irritated. He needed answers but no one was offering him any. He wondered why the DSS was suddenly getting involved with his prisoner.

At the entrance to the prison, Tosin Freeman handed her service pistol and backup weapon to the security guard for safekeeping. She walked through the metal detector into the prison. Down the hallway, she met an officer who walked her to the Warden’s office
Warden Chidi wasn’t particularly happy when he was told to give Tosin Freeman whatever she wanted and to stay out of her way. He didn’t like being told how to run his prison but he knew better than to disobey a direct order from his boss.
He had been in the correctional system long enough to understand that when the Abuja boys start steering up the water, there was usually a lot going on underneath.
Suleman was a high-profile convict and if the guys in Abuja were suddenly sniffing around him, he desperately needed to know why.
Chidi heard a knock on his door. He impulsively sat up in his chair and adjusted his tie.
“Come in.” His deep throaty voice bounced off the walls.
“Good morning, sir,” Tosin said as she walked in. Going straight to Chidi, she offered him a handshake.
“Good morning,” he said almost in a whisper.
He looked at her suspiciously and did not bother shaking her hand. He didn’t like her and did not see the need to pretend about it. She had been a frequent visitor to the prison in the past few weeks. That wasn’t the problem though. The way she levitated around the prison, acting like she ran the place put her in Chidi’s bad books.
She took the seat directly facing Chidi Peterson. He glared at her like a school principal about to grill a student for violating a school rule.
“What the hell is the DSS doing sniffing around my inmate for the past three weeks?”
“The DSS has jurisdictional prerogative on cases bothering on national security.” She spoke calmly, not perturbed by Chidi’s petulant behaviour.
“Suleman Ade is a convict quietly serving his term in my prison. He is neither a flight risk nor a threat to National Security. He’s the last person the DSS should be worried about.”
Tosin said nothing.
“Look,” he continued, “I’ve been around long enough to understand that when the DSS starts sniffing around a dead carcass, something is going on. So, out of professional courtesy, how about you tell me exactly what?”
Tosin decided it was her turn to play hard to get.
“The information you’re asking for is classified.”
“Then declassify the damn information and give it to me.”
Tosin thought for a moment as if deciding whether to tell him or not. She shifted her chair an inch closer and leaned forward a bit, talking in a conspiratorial tone, choosing her words very carefully.
“Suleman Ade is walking out of here today a free man.”
“What! Is that a bad joke or what?”
“Though not really free,” she added.
“What are you talking about?”
“The president has signed a pardon for him in exchange for his testimony in a high-profile case.”
“You mean the Bruno Obeten case.”
“Yes. But he will be taken into protective custody by my team that is arriving shortly.”
It all made perfect sense to Chidi now. While he processed the implication of this unpleasant news, Tosin continued.
“The paperwork will be coming in with my team any moment from now and I’m here to make sure the transfer happens without hitches. I’m sorry I can’t go into any more details without compromising the case.”
Chidi nodded as if he understood perfectly.
“Where are you guys taking him?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. I already told you I can’t give you any more details than I already have.”
They looked at each other with nothing else to say. Then the sound of a helicopter nearby broke the silence.
“That’s the sound of my team’s arrival. We’ll airlift the prisoner to a safe location now. You might want to help facilitate that process immediately.”
Chidi got up from his chair, followed Tosin to the door and walked out of his office as he closed the door gently behind him.

Glistinin:
As we start to list scammers posing as writers so as to deter others and warn those that could fall into their net in the future, let me list my first scammer:

Name: Muhammad Adesola J
Bank details: 3068633322, Access Bank.
Phone: 09151367829.
State: Ekiti State.

Just posting someone's details as a scammer without incontrovertible proof is illegal. You can be sued for defamation of character.