Endless Love October 15, 1995

A piece of death news was the discussion the next day. Iru Akeke was murdered while receiving treatment. How? When? Where were the security personnel? Many questions aroused. People were angered. As the State Police Commissioners attention was called upon, the Ikotun police correspondent followed. Many pitied the D.P.O as it seemed all his efforts were presumed on. It wasn a faded discussion. The people demanded explanations, and yes, they deserved them.

I got on a Whatsapp chat with the D.P.O as it wasn easy to get through to him that day because his lines were busy but regardless, he squeezed out some minutes for me. He attested to the fact that he knew that was going to happen. He had gotten hold of the subject for several months and he was glad to hadn publicized him to his office before that day. The Nigerian Police Force is full of corruption, he said, thats why he plays his cards right. All the facts he needed to know had been revealed to him as per Ijaya Iberu, although much about his personal life wasn spoken of, however, his possible locations, what action might provoke his next mission, little about the connections he has got amongst other things had been revealed. And he promised that sooner than later Ijaya Iberu will be apprehended, and the same justice as served the former will be done to him.

The discussion rocked for days, and it seemed the police might not get their neck saved from the publics grab, then the D.P.O publicized yet another surprise. It was termed a double-barrel surprise by Hope.

This man is indeed a wonder. He is the best thing to ever happened to the Nigerian Police Force. Wish he were the Army General of the Federation because the Boko Haram squad and banditry would have been in the past tense. Pray he becomes the Nigeria Police Commissioner one day. God bless him, said a tweeter user.

It so happened that as the general election was just a few weeks away, there was an assassination attack on one of the presidential candidates who also was the peoples choice. The whole nation arose, mostly the youths. Many of them threatened the present-day government and the major opposition party candidate too. Many of the youths were ready to die as they rallied into every government house in the country. In their hundreds and thousands, they marched to the National Assembly, and various secretariats of the state, and they marched against the opposition party in every of their constituency. Day by day, their forces were gaining strength as they demanded justice. However, amidst all the rifts, hope provided them with one.

11th of May, 2018. The presidential rally of the Present Day Party was ongoing on the street of Onitsha, Abia. Everywhere was filled up with passionate electorates, mostly the youth. They were rallying enthusiastically, singing and rejoicing with full spirit upon the arrival of their candidate, the man of the year, Mr. Benjamin Samuel. All plans were intact. Security was in check. Welfare was in check too. The passionate electorates made everything look so simple and easy for the day. They sponsored their candidate all by themselves. The day was a desiring wonder. Restructure and rebuild for posterities sake. The youth for Benjamin, and the youth for Samuel , echoed from the staged speakers on a Toyota Hiace vehicle. They were like virgins waiting upon the grooms arrival.

After several minutes, the man of the year was present. Rejoicing, dancing, and smiling he waved to his die-hard fans. Varieties of devices were up as many filmed the day, others took diverse selfies. They were all in one happy. After several minutes were successfully spent, Mr. Benjamin Samuel was about to round up his speech when an attack was launched on him. The moment he shouted power to the youth , a triple gunshot followed. At first, many thought it was also in the days plan, however, commotion followed. Gunshots followed by bloodshot. The candidate and others around him were spilled with blood. There were two casualties in the result. Miraculously, the man of the year escaped death. Several youths canopied around him as he was delivered to safety.

The next day, following the assassination attack, the perpetrators, two of another Ijaya Iberu boys, were apprehended and publicized by the D.P.O. at the Ikotun police station. The whole nation was wowed. Ikotun was crowded. Many youths marched to the station holding up the D.P.O, Mr. Peter Chukwueze, chanting hope. He was the man of the moment. Many wondered how he got hold of them. The good Lord has started working wonders in the country. May it last longer than expected. Now, it is sure that we are being encompassed by Hope and Grace , another tweeter user stated. Upon hearing his explanation of how he got hold of them, I never believed still. Two days later, I was in his company.

Four in numbers, we celebrated another victory over Ijaya Iberu at the D.P.Os home. Unlike others, he lived in the Police Barrack at Ago Palace Way, Ago. After the celebration was over, I demanded the exact explanation of the matter. He was surprised at my brilliant skepticism. With a cup of Hennessey in his hand, he moved towards Kabiru Alimi and Mallam Ismael Yaradua, and with lots of smiles on his face, he cheered. I got the message straight up. I looked at those three men in awe. Mallam Ismael Yaradua said, As the strong survive, the wise excel. It is better advised to play safe like the wise.

Kabiru Alimi was the man of the moment as he narrated the delightful experience. Iru Akeke made that day possibly successful for them as that was one of the possible places Ijaya Iberu could strike. Despite being on the run, Ijaya Iberu has still got his connection intact , he expatiated. Most meticulously perhaps as well-trained men of the armed forces, they were amongst other electorate prepared for the devils strike. As soon as the first shot was fired, as fast as an eagle, he scanned through while seated on the roof of the Toyota Hiace. Following the second shot, his eyes found the culprit at 45meters away. Without hesitancy, he fought his way through the panicked mob running towards the culprits position on top of a 120meters mast. Following his order, both men trailed after him.

For fear of losing him, Mallam Ismael Yaradua quickly jumped on his bike riding towards the spot from 20 meters away. Before they could get to him, he was escaping away after jumping on a roof close by. With both eyes set on the prize, the man rode steadily after him till he was out of his site. As Kabiru Alimi got to the spot, he was furious to hear that the culprit had somehow disappeared. With careful steps, he entered the spot while the man waits on. Finding his way through the labyrinth buildings, being speculative, he kept on the chase until he found the culprit at a corner processing a phone call. Kabiru Alimi being a no-nonsense man wasted no bit rather, he fired him up. The culprit got shot in the stomach and he hauled him outside to where Mallam Ismael Yaradua had parked.

Every one of the electorates had dispersed and there was a breath of silence everywhere not until another gunshot was heard. It was a close shot from the culprits accomplice. Mallam Ismael Yaradua was shot in the back but it did not affect him as he had a bulletproof vest on. Because it was hard to reach for cover, Kabiru Alimi had no option but to use the wounded culprit as one while Mallam Ismael Yaradua avenged the shots at a safer point on cover. The wounded culprit got shot multiple times il he gave up the ghost. The other culprit, however, got short of bullets at a very crucial moment. Scared, as he was running away from the eagles lookout, Mallam Ismael Yaradua ran after him firing multiple shots until he got shot in the leg and was captured.

All these happened for more than 20 minutes yet the police were nowhere to be found , boasted Mallam Ismael Yaradua.

They transported both culprits, dead and alive, to their van nearby. At the safest speed, he rode back to Atan, Ogun state under the tearful sky as they went on while Kabiru Alimi attended to the dead culprit giving him the necessary embalmment before packing him up. They arrived at quarter past ten in the night. After locking up both culprits in the mini compartment, they helped themselves with the nicest of rest before transferring them to the D.P.Os office the following morning. It was an intriguing story from two great men of war. I enjoyed the entirety of the day with them.

But while men slept, his enemies came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. We were all fast asleep when Ijaya Iberu wreak more than havoc on the nation. It was an unexpected strike.

Fire! Everyone get out. Save yourself and your family! In the middle of that night when we were all in our comfort, Ijaya Iberu had set the whole Barracks on fire just because of one man. There was great panicking as everyone hurried to save his or her respective family. Amidst the bizarre happening, the D.P.O got a call from his station with a report that a serious gun attack was ongoing against them. Before the fire would spread further in his apartment, as quickly as possible, and being speculative too, he hurried back inside to get the keys to both vehicles. He worried less about arsenals as there were quite a lot in the van and his jeep. Without further ado, we moved.

We had barely moved a kilometer when he got a report that two nearby police stations, the Igando, and Idimu/Isheri were on fire. Without thinking off the counter, he called his station to be sure if they were only suffering a gun attack. The same woman as the first responded stating things hasn gotten to that extent, and she further gave him the location of her hide-out inside the station. As reckless, more than a Formula One Driver, he drove through the dark. At exactly every five minutes, he would push a call through to know the extent of things if one never happened. Finally, we were almost arriving at the station. But as soon as we arrived at the Ikotun roundabout facing the station there were numerous gunshots fired at us. Following his order, I lowered my head while he pull through aggressively toward his destination. There we were at his station, finally.

To our utter surprise, every surrounding of the station except for the roundabout and some distance off the station thundered with strikes of gunshots. For safer measures and precautions, he made us wait for close to five minutes before getting off the board and hurrying inside. There were fallen bodies dispersed along the path as we made our way through closely by the cemented fence. As soon as we were inside, he was angered and disappointed by the overall state of things. Looking at the fallen armed bodies of his men and the destruction of his managed properties, he raged. I could see it on his face as it was written over him. He brought out his phone and made yet another call to the woman, his constable. The moment the call was up, he hurried upstairs to where she was hiding. I followed behind him to an extent when suddenly, an explosion was heard not far off. We both ran down the stairs, and after passing through some tight corners, the doom that had befallen others was vividly right at our door making progress into our nostrils. Fire!

We had no option but to run back upstairs since that was where we both had business. All our hope of surviving the calamity that befell us would be through teamwork. ” It Is sure that Ijaya Iberu was hiding at a corner when or before we arrived waiting for us to progress inside before setting the whole place on fire, he said, Now we must both prove him wrong by victorying through this. Are you ready for this? ” I looked him deep into his eyes, affording a heavy sigh, I nodded in response. After running the stairs through, he went off to save the woman where she had locked herself up while I ventured to his office to save Adebare. As I ran off to the compartment where he was secretly kept from the publics eyes pending his appearance in court anytime soon, I prayed the fire shouldn have made a much fatal progression.

As soon as I was inside the D.P.Os office, I reached out for the remote control of the electronic bookshelf that had kept the little space from the eyes. I pressed its green button so the obstruction could pave the way rather everything was still. It angered me that I stamped it hard against the wall breaking it into pieces. I thought of the possible way to get through. I began pushing against the bookshelf but it won bend to my will still. I then began to drop all its contents, sweeping most of it aside to see if there might be a way through. As the act was on, I knocked a tin container that was available hard against the surface which halved both spaces but it was a cemented wall. I tried calling on him whether he would hear me out but it was a deaf wall. All hope was lost at that junction. Trust he never knew what was going on and the impeccable impending doom. Again, I thought over many possibilIties In seconds. I searched the office thoroughly whether a miracle might be lurking somewhere but there was none too. Without thinking twice, I hurried off from the spot.

The impending fire had taken form already spreading its wings across. From the main entrance of the floor deck up to its top were all agush and rapidly growing in flames of fire towards the D.P.Os office. There is possibly no way through that side of the building so I just made a U-turn back to the stairways. I ran the big hallway down to where he was gone to save the woman who had locked herself up without having the keys. I was in shock to see that there was an approaching fire that has started from there too. The fire was already taking over sixty-five percent of the building. Right there where I stood, I knew I had to save myself, leaving others behind. Without thinking-off-the counter, I ran the path down the flamed stairway towards the exit. After passing through corners of the building, I was nearing the exit. I was more than glad. As soon as I opened the door, took four steps down its stairs, and headed out of the building, I came across Mr. Death.

In his most loveable befitting outfit, with what looked like a royal crutch he stood before me. With him was Deji, another most dearth asset of his with a pistol. Together, they welcomed me in their arms.

A thick column of smoke overthrew the clouds as the fire kept its pressure on. Gunshots could still be heard but it was far of. It seemed that theyve taken the fight to another ground. I felt sick seeing the horribles. Those fallen bodies were burning up already as some burning particles had circulated them. The police vans in the compound as well as the D.P.Os Jeep were vocalizing dreadful fire. Some minor explosions made their presence felt sometimes as they cheered the vocals. Watching my steps, I hurried off outside the compound then I bumped into the hands of the sons of darkness. I was shocked, and I assumed that they were too. On the count of one to six, eyes meet yet once again.

” Dele! , yelled Deji, Stay put and don move an inch ”, he ordered. In slow motion, I turned back around, facing them.

I can not say how I had managed it but my brain, too overactive, processed Adebares thought as a breakout of the impending doom. However, both parties weren ready to entertain a thought of mine. Following the devils edict, thrice, his knave gunned me down.

” Oju pade lẹẹkansi , Ijaya Iberu said, adjusting his position as he limps towards me, giving me a cold hug. Iru Akeke, ṣe iṣẹ naa. Mu u tutu. ”

As happy as a bride who sees her bridegroom, synching these words Iku nèrè ẹṣẹ , Dele shot me on the right leg, on my left hand, and finally, my heart as I laid down flat on the teary ground.

And that was the end of that night for me. But if only they have heard me out, who knows, we might have been the hero of the night!