CHAPTER 14
The capture
As the minutes went by, Major Badoo had found the ladies who described the doctor they saw earlier in the evening; they had described the door to the faculty of arts and the young doctor’s car. It was all easy to find and Major Badoo could only hope the lecturers made it out of the campus alive before the rest of the Chief’s boys caught up with them. All he had for Dr Agbabiaka was sympathy, having been a lecturer before at the Air force Institute of Technology and at the Federal University of Technology, Akure in Ondo state. He considered the young man a colleague and a comrade and one of the first lessons you learn in the military is never to abandon a comrade in the face of fire. He had deeper feelings and respect for Professor Sanmi Aluko, the man who had given him the chance to make something out of his existence. Prof didn’t deserve to die in the hands of a wanton politician in the quest for power so he knew deep down within him that even if these men were captured alive, at least one would escape. The only way he could warn them now of the presence of Chief Gbolabo’s boys were to set Dr’s car ablaze. Little did he know that Alhaji Kosoko’s boys too were already on the University campus and would instantly get interested in the burning car?
So, at exactly 4:00 am on Sunday the seventeenth day of August 2025, the car belonging to Dr Agbabiaka of the department of medicine and surgery of the University of Ibadan exploded in what is believed to be a car bomb, sparking gun fights within the school by individuals who are believed not to even be students of the university. One of the hoodlums who died during the fifteen minute shootout had been identified by some individuals as an aide of foremost politician and PA presidential candidate, Chief Gbolabo. That’s how Chief Gbolabo heard it on the 7:00 am news. Five minutes later, the chairman of the PA had countered the news station in a publicly released memo that said the party had no presidential candidate since the party’s primaries had not been held and Alhaji Kosoko was the more favoured of all the interested party members, having satisfied all conditions and receiving traditional endorsements from prominent leaders of the Yoruba people.
Papa, Uncle Jimi and Dr Agbabiaka had packed their recordings and valuable materials and along with the thirteen year old boy who carried the bags, of course, they made their way to the Griot’s hole. As they moved through the artificial jungle, there was a loud explosion and the forest ground was terribly shaken. The men hurried to the back exit and opened the door slightly to see what had happened. From a long way off, Uncle Jimi could see that the explosion had come from Dr Agbabiaka’s parked car. They had simply returned into the thick artificial forest from where they could hear faint sounds of gunshots and men running along the corridors of the faculty building. Policemen had flooded into the school premises but nobody had been apprehended. Students ran helter-skelter in all directions and the whole campus was in a pandemonium before any of the culprits could be apprehended. It was about forty minutes later that the large door of the griot’s hole had been opened by Major Badoo and three of his men. The space was just too large for three men to search and it was dark, a huge forest of tall trees ceiled by large transparent sheets. There were lights that came on intermittently and sign of life. The former officer kept his gun at his side and ordered his men to stand down. Then out of the dark forest, there was a bright spark of lightning proceeding from a large image of …….a tall man covered in beads, charms, amulets and a raised blood-stained iron axe…….. It looked like……
“Sango”, the ex-military man stammered in obvious fear as the statue seemed to turn and look at him with blazing eyes.
It is often said that a human being is never more alert than when confronted with unexpected danger and in the brief instant the lightning flashed, Badoo could make out a stream flowing down a narrow long footpath and ……… moving men. His hand whipped out his gun in a flash. He moved forward and led his men slowly down the narrow path amidst the activities and statues that littered the forest floor but the space was too wide to search. He knew he had to end the whole mission right here.
It was the perfect spot to kill and bury.
He intended to kill the mission and bury it right here so he told his boys to hand in their guns since they wouldn’t need it to capture three old men and to avoid any foolishness that could give away their positions. With all four guns safely in his hand, he ordered the men to disperse themselves around the forest floor and search for the men. They were only to be captured and not injured in any way. Little did he know that one of the boys, a little ruffian in his early twenties called Jide had come along with his own small shotgun that he kept in his boot.
As the men combed the terrifying forest for an hour without success, they were ready to quit the search when a shrill sound from a telephone cut through the heavy dew-laden forest air. It came from the right side of the footpath and about fifteen metres from Jide’s location but all had heard it. All the men inched closer to that section of the forest enclosing it. In the midst of the thick forest under brush, a small beep sounded as Dr Agbabiaka made to switch of his mobile phone which had rang out loudly a few minutes earlier. The group of men inched closer round a large rock that rose about thirteen metres from the forest ground, forming roughly ten metres diameter round the base of the rock which was about ten metres wide at the base and with the figure of the statue of an old man with long flowing white beards which extended down almost half the height of the rock. The man ceaselessly read out adulations of Olodumare in long proverbs, each verse ending in Iba Olodumare. It read something like:
Baba iba
T’o ni igba ati gbogbo nnkanti a ba
Nigba igba le ni igba igba l’oti fi agba
Han awon agbagba idi ti agba se je nipa
Agba’ale awon omo oba lowo oba kan
Ki a ma so t’awon eru lowo ika oba
Ti o so gba ti a fuun-un di gba-gba-gba.
A nikan gba eru kale so o d’oba ti n bi oba
Ti n f’iba fun Oba agba awon oba
Ti a n pe ni
Kabiyo o si Olodumare
Iba Olodumare.
From Jide’s angle, he could see a small opening that entered into a small cave. There’s an opening here shouted Jide to the other men.
Come out, shouted Major Badoo to the men in the cave as his men surrounded the cave mouth. There was no movement.
We’re moving in, he further announced to the men. Nothing happened but nothing prepared him for the shock he was to receive. As he inched closer with two of his men, past a wooden sign post at the entrance of the cave that read, Ibugbe Olodumare, he heard a small ruffling sound as a bright light shone in the distance, about thirty metres ahead; it was a deep underground cave. Jide instinctively kept a hand on the gun at his heel as the rustling sound increased and came closer. Then he felt beating dampness all over his face and screeching sounds. He fired three rounds into the rustling darkness amidst cries and groans from his fellows and somewhere in the distance, another scream. As the bats frittered out of the cave and everything grew silent again except the surprise scream of the man outside the cave. He could feel the heaviness of his right leg and a sharp pain coming from his foot where he had shot himself. The Major came near him and landed him a big slap that sent him into a coma.
Hand me the gun and carry this fool out of here, he told the remaining man.
I’ll get the men, he said hurrying into the thick darkness of the cave beyond. He found the young doctor Agbabiaka attending to Papa who was bleeding profusely from two gunshot wounds on his left shoulder. They carried the old man out of the cave and as they came out, Jide was just waking from his coma and the major glared at him angrily. He landed him another blow that sent him back to coma.
Doctor, Can we treat the two men here before going out, the campus is surrounded by the police. I can only give first aid but they’re surely losing a lot of blood and that’s bad. We also need to dislodge the metals, I mean the bullets.
Then suddenly remembering, the Major asks Uncle Jimi, where is the little boy.
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He’s been long gone out of here, about an hour now, with copies of the recordings. We sent him to the TV station, BCOS, not the police. We still have the originals safely hidden somewhere along with Dr Agbabiaka’s work.
That’s okay, the major said as his boys looked on in confusion.
Let’s go then, he said.
He asked the boys and the young doctor to help carry the two injured men.