ARMED ROBBERY?

Armed robbery?

 The vehicle stopped abruptly. We had barely passed Ore. I was traveling from Benin to Lagos. I could not understand what was happening. Why would we stop at the middle of the road?

The next sentenced that woke me from my psychological slumber was “everybody come down”. Then all my ‘ignorantly’ driven innocence were replaced with ‘automatic giddiness’. I understood the obvious. Was I being robbed? My heart skipped as I tried to answer that question.

The men dressed in black jean,black shoes and a pair of dark glasses. Numbering about eight. They were armed to the teeth. Why would they be armed to such extent just to rob a bus on
its way to Lagos?At least these weapons were a total waste of ‘resources’.

Oh! My android phone. I screamed in my heart. I had just bought the recent model of the android series. The phone was just 3 days old. I was still in the melancholic state of having to lose my phone when my heart soberly reminded me of my ‘apple laptop’. I had gotten the laptop through ‘family efforts’ at a giveaway price of one hundred and eighty thousand naira. I almost got up to run to the bus to collect my laptop bag and head for the thick forest behind me. Another‘thought’ said I should bargain with the ‘men in black’ (MIB). Bargain? Was this a kind of a joke? Some funny thoughts usually come to your mind in very serious situation.

My face was glued to the ground as we were initially commanded. I then noticed I was becoming ‘too’ obedient, hence I decided to raise my head ‘a little’. They started searching the bags and luggage. They were just two bags away from mine. I consoled myself.They may take the laptop but the forty five thousand naira given to me by my uncle,safely kept in my pockets would suffice my emotions to ‘healing faster’. Surely, I was not traveling light!

Almost immediately, one of MIBs (MEN IN BLACK) started searching the passengers. Ah! I would be

leaked up by these guys! I exclaimed. I started re-considering the possibility of dashing into the forest;they could have my laptop while I escape with my phone and the money. At least, that would be 50-50.

Before takeoff, I noticed the driver of our bus not lying on the ground. He was standing majestically with the ‘men’ discussing in low tones.Yoruba persons would exclaim‘yeeekpa’!

“We have been sold out by our driver. First lesson, don’t board a vehicle not registered in a park!”---- I told myself.

One of the ‘men’ caught me spying at them and he marched towards my direction, cocking his gun on the way. I then remembered that I had disobeyed his instruction. Was I going to be shot?

My laptop, my money, my phone and now my life? No way, I can never allow that, not without a fight. I decided to take a powerful-backward-leap into the bush, although not knowing where I was running to but surely knowing what I was running from, and at the moment, this was the most important.

So there, about to run;

The man coming towards me stopped and with his coarse voice he said“All stand”, I could not believe my ears. I stood with quivery legs. He continued by saying “I would do anything I have said before, so please do not dare disobey any of my instructions”.

as this the opening speech to my shooting? I was disquieted. He continued, “Anyway, we are men from the Nigerian police force. We were tipped off about an imminent terrorist attack that was going to occur on the Benin Lagos road, hence we are here to make sure any of you are not carrying explosives, we are sorry for …”

any inconveniences we may have caused you

I felt funny! I smiled. ‘Mixed’ feelings. My emotions could not accommodate such. So my laptop and all my financial and electronic appendages are safe… I fainted.

Another fiction!Let not your heart be troubled. Fear usually comes first to our mind when we are in difficult situations;always try to make it the first to leave.

Nothing is as important as our ‘inner decorum’. No matter how much you lose;never be troubled!