A long silence ensued in the court; everyone was shocked to see the prosecutor invite the wife of one of the accused men into the witness box. Tayo’s mouth was left ajar while Emeka simply adjusted his glasses and leaned on the dock. He didn’t seem to be surprised like his dock mate. Osato who was seated beside Osahon almost pulled her back as she stepped forward; she wore a puzzled look that questioned what her mother was up to. The registrar handed Osahon a bible and she went ahead to swear by it, repeating every word the registrar uttered, declaring to tell nothing but the truth. Barrister Yejide simply adjusted his wig in a way that denoted that he was expecting the worst. He wasn’t prepared for the attack the prosecutor had just launched. And whatever it resulted into, he couldn’t anticipate how to deal with it.
“Can you please tell the court your name and your relationship with these accused men,” the prosecutor questioned as he began his examination of Osahon.
“I am Osahon Idemili, I am wife and mother-in-law to both accused men respectively,” she answered pointing a finger at Emeka and then Tayo.
“Do you know the deceased?”
“Yes, I do”
“What exactly is your relationship with him?”
“He is the father of my daughters,” Osahon said without blinking. She gave Emeka a lethal gaze that could only mean one thing – betrayal.
“Can you please recall and share with this court your own account of what transpired the day George visited,” the prosecutor continued, laying emphases on the words ‘account’ and ‘transpired’ as he spoke.
Then silence took charge of the courtroom again, this time one could almost hear a pin drop. Osahon locked her fingers into each other and went mute for about 5 seconds, and then suddenly; as if there was a sudden unlock of her memory, she looked up at Emeka with tears in her eyes and pointed at him as she found her voice,
“He killed him!”
“Killed who? The prosecutor questioned.
“He killed George, Emeka killed George!” she declared, with grief in her voice. Osato stood up and screamed at her, “liar!” and then the courtroom erupted into noisy debate and argument before the registrar slammed his hand on the desk before him and yelled ‘ORDER!”
“The prosecutor may continue with his examination of this witness”, the judge declared. The prosecutor acknowledged the judge and continued. He turned to weeping Osahon and asked her to recount the event that occurred on the ill-fated day in details. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief she had stuck in her wrapper and then began to narrate:
“It was on a Sunday morning. We had just finished taking breakfast when the doorbell rang. I asked the girls to check who the visitor was and to my surprise it was George and Tayo. I wasn’t expecting to see George, but I knew he had come for his daughters. He asked to talk to his daughters but Emeka refused, claiming his financial right over girls and talking about how he had spent a lot raising them and wasn’t ready to grant George’s proposal.
This soon angered George; he brought out a gun and threatened to shoot someone. After all, all he requested was a chance to talk to the girls and let them know who their biological father is. Osahon coughed. While he was still being furious and wasn’t concentrating, Emeka pounced on him from behind and disarmed him. They both rushed for the gun, but Emeka was fastest to recover it. George raised his hands to surrender but Emeka disregarded the act and shot him twice.”
The prosecutor adjusted his gown and continued, “Can you please tell this court who the biological father of the girls is?”
“They are George’s girls,”
“In other words, Emeka killed an innocent man after carting away his children?”
“Objection my Lord” Barrister Yejide intruded, “the state counsel is trying to blackmail my client with his questions. This witness brought the girls to my client and not the other way round.”
“Objection overruled” the judge ordered, “the prosecutor may continue with this witness, but with straightforward questions.”
“Yes my Lord” the prosecutor answered and then continued with Osahon,
“What was Mr. Tayo’s role in the murder of Mr. George?”
“I can only remember him being scared and lurking in a corner. He didn’t play any part in it. He was just unfortunate to have escorted the deceased to the place of his death.”
“Are you saying that he didn’t take part in his murder?”
“Yes.”
“And there was no conspiracy of any such?”
“I do not know of any”
“So, he (Emeka) acted alone?
”
“Yes.”
“That will be all for now my Lord,” the prosecutor concluded and headed to his seat. The judge jotted down few notes in his journal and then asked Barrister Yejide to cross examine Osahon. The first statement he made was to logically accuse Osahon of lies and betrayal.
“I put it to this court that this witness is an enemy within. Mrs. Idemili. If all you just recounted to this court is true, then I put it to you that you have been a part of this conspiracy all along,”
“No!” Osahon retorted.
“No, it isn’t true? Or no I wasn’t part of the conspiracy?”
“I wasn’t part of the conspiracy.”
“So, why did it take you over 13 months before coming out with this account?”
“It didn’t take me 13 months. I was the one who sent the evidence to the police via the mailing company. At first I didn’t want to come out because I was scared of losing my husband to the law. But then, a man died in the process and the law must take its cause.”
Barrister Yejide took a deep breath and then pleaded the judge to grant Tayo bail on the grounds that Osahon’s testimony vindicated him of any crime, and that he will always be present in court until judgment is given.
The judge granted Tayo bail and ordered that a DNA test be carried out to clarify the uncertainty about Emeka being the biological father of the twins. How come no one thought about that all the while? He adjourned the hearing till the next month and the court rose afterwards.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – —
They parked outside the court premise, waiting for the session to be over. They seem to be in haste and so they didn’t bother to turn off the ignition. They simply sat there with eyes that were redder than the colour red as they sipped on whiskey and puffed out smoke from the cigarettes they had in their hands. The first male who had a bottle of whiskey said to the other in a voice that denoted bottled up anger, “by the time this is over. We would have avenged our friend.” “Yes.” The other male responded.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – —
Mrs. Coker ran after the judge had risen, to hug her son who reluctantly reciprocated the gesture. Osato just stood afar off initially, unsure of how to react to the whole episode. Emeka who was now laughing to everyone’s disbelief was escorted to the prisoner’s van. Osato ran after Musa and tore his shirt in an attempt to lock his neck with it,
“Where is my son?” she shouted. Mrs. Coker was quick to soon join her, screaming at a policeman to arrest him for kidnapping her grandson. Musa who was now the center of attention quickly called on his friend who stood afar off,
“Sule, bring Johnson.” Everyone including Tayo turned around to face Sule who was walking towards them with Johnson. The two women left Musa and ran towards Sule to retrieve Johnson. Musa stood up and cautiously said to Tayo,
“Oga mi, I am so sorry. I go for DNA, but I am not the father.” Tayo, who was yet to recover from his shock at his sudden freedom from the jaws of jail, just stood there, not uttering a word. Suddenly, crack! crack! crack! The bangs were a bit louder than the regular fireworks. Then a man rushed into a car that was gradually picking up motion. In few seconds, the car was out of sight. Osahon had been shot in her shoulder, stomach, and thigh; she was fast losing blood..
