Justice is a River
By: Pagliacci
Tags: Injustice, Fiction, Police Brutality

The officers shifted in their seats with visible unease, the Commissioner's eyes were almost bloodshot

"I said where is the child of this Woman!"

He shouted at their OC, the Child in question was the only child of one of the Air force Chiefs, he schooled in the state owned University.

One afternoon, as he took a stroll off campus, members of the Special Anti Robbery squad, napped him and put him in their Bus, along with some other people.

Those who saw the incident, proceeded to inform his friends, who proceeded to call his mother.

She had to take a flight to the state, and when she got to the station, they denied knowing the whereabouts of her son, they said they didn’t take him and she snapped, knowing it to be untrue, she threatened fire and brimstone, she spoke about knowing the reputation of this station to be an abbatoir, and if as small as a strand of hair on her son’s head was hurt she’d rain down hell. They asked her to write a statement.

The next day, she came with officers from Bonny Camp, And threatened to take them all to the barracks if her son wasn’t produced. Their OC panicked and said that her son was at the State police HQ, He was to be charged as an armed robber.

She decided to go there and was fuming, "my son? A robber?" she met with the commissioner, introduced herself, and after an hour of bearing her threats, the commissioner asked to see the officers in camera.

"What is wrong with you! You no dey look face! Wey the boy dey now?" The OC after a bout of stuttering spilled the beans, the Boy when arrested, was told to write a statement, or rather was dictated a statement which would have held him complicit to armed robbery. The boy being a budding law student, and the only Child of an air Force commandant, refused and told them his rights, as leverage he told them his background, they behaved a tad softer to him, and asked him to run them some funds, and he’ll be Scot free, he refused! They decided to release him still, since there were also other guys arrested with him, who were also about to be framed for armed robbery, he refused to go. They asked him to mind his business, and as a reward for his outburst, he was to spend one more night in jail.

That night their ‘customer’ came, and chose one of the boys who came with the kid, for his purchase, as the chosen kid was about to be smuggled out, the rich kid awakened, and refused for them to take the boy away, in the tussle between the kid and the officers, the OC claimed there was an accidental discharge, and to salvage the situation...

The commissioner told the boys mother that her son was safe, and asked the OC to take her to where her son was.

He drove her to the Osi river, she was befuddled and couldn’t comprehend what was going on. The OC handed her a piece of paper, which told the truth about that night, and got back to his truck, he was driving off when he heard a screech, her screech, he drove off, knowing he’d never see the town again.

His officers would be the scapegoats.

The Osi river was evacuated some weeks after, and over 15 bodies were found, the SARS officers were prosecuted privately, and the matter wasn’t publicised, pressmen were denied access. The woman took her life two weeks after.

Justice is the river Osi.