By Norah Okafor
At exactly 1:36am, I was alerted by my brother that there were armed robbers at my gate trying to make their way into the compound. Because it was an electric fence, I didn't bother enough because I felt they won’t be able to make their way in. Alas, I was wrong. 2am on the dot they made their way into the compound.
They came prepared. Over 25 of them with two Hilux buses, masked and dressed in black upon black. A huge one climbed the fence, with a plier and immediately cut off a few of the wires, jumped into the compound and with an axe, broke the gate key open and, zoom, they made their first entry into my apartment.
As a nude sleeper, while they tried to make their way into the compound, I found something to wear while my brothers and I were thinking of a way of escape. The worst case scenario for me was that they might rape or take the only valuable available (a car key), so I prepared my mind.
The next thing I realized was that about 7 of them were already
in my room with shouts of "lie down,
face down!
On
the light!
Where’s your phone?
Where's your car key?
Where's this and that.
Confused me. Seeing over 25 hefty men with different kinds of
guns, mhen, e don be, be that.
I handed the phone to them with the key, before then, they have already taken hold of my laptop. I turned to be sure these were armed robbers.
They asked for my passwords to all the devices they collected with masking tape to identify each. Still in shock, I heard someone destroying everything in the kitchen, my room, that of my brothers and all the drawers.
I was still asking myself what's happening? They asked me to stand and follow them downstairs Lo and behold, they unmasked themselves, hmmmm… Are these kind criminals? I asked. All my neighbours were already going through the same pain as I.
They have already given my brothers a beating of their lives,
carried my neighbour downstairs and tried unlocking all the cars in the
compound. And after searching all the phones and laptops, three of their men
walked in.
Lo and behold, it was EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission).
What? I screamed.
Shut up, was the next thing I heard. When they couldn't open my phone, they asked me to, I did. After a while I just asked, “please where is your office so I can come pick up my things on my way to work”
They asked me what I did for a living and I said, "journalist."
They asked my neighbor, and he said "lawyer," and the other "doctor".
They looked at me, handed over the phones and said "we just wasted our time".
These fools, spent over one hour molesting and destroying things in this compound. I feel so pained and embarrassed right now.
Is
this how EFCC operates? How did we get here? Who is the informant? I am just
confused right now. Thank God my mum isn't here...
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