*EPISODE 13*
((CHANGE OF RULES))
Flashback 18 years ago.
It was an election period. And Adekunle Lawan, the then governor aspirant, had everyone singing praises to his name. He was happy to have successfully won the hearts of many citizens of his state. But then something bad happened during his campaign days.
His only son, Gerald Lawan, then 25, who was fond of living a wayward life, had drugged and defiled a 15-year-old girl who was the granddaughter of their domestic help.
She had returned from school that afternoon and decided to sit outside their building to wait for her grandmother who had gone to buy some things at the market.
Unfortunately, Gerald Lawan, who had been hanging out with friends that afternoon, returned home extremely drunk. And when he saw the little girl waiting outside for her grandmother, he loved what he saw. Even though her uniform wasn’t short or seductive in any way, he still felt that he longed for her.
And to carry out his plans successfully, he told the young girl that instead of sitting outside, she should go inside and wait for her grandmother.
The young girl had refused, saying she was comfortable waiting outside, but Gerald kept urging her to go wait inside.
After much pressure, the innocent girl agreed and followed him inside. He asked her to sit comfortably on the sofa which she did. Then he went in and returned with a glass of juice, which he offered to the girl. The girl refused saying she was okay. But he insisted until she gave in and accepted the juice from him, unaware that the juice was drugged.
A few moments later she became dizzy and sleepy. Gerald, knowing what was going on, gently took the cup from her and helped her lie straight on the sofa. And while she was still struggling to compose herself, he slipped his hand inside her dress and pulled off her underwear.
The poor girl was helpless and so weak that she could not defend herself. Gerald successfully violated her, leaving her on the sofa sobbing in pain. Gerald warned her never to mention what happened to anyone. Otherwise, he would kill her and her grandmother.
When her grandmother returned, Gerald returned to his room as if nothing had happened. She met her daughter crying with bloodstains on her uniform. After many questions and pressure, she finally opened up to her grandmother who was completely heartbroken.
The woman had to wait until Adekunle Lawan returned from his campaign trip that night. For he had traveled to a different local government for his campaign.
When she finally told Adekunle Lawan what his son had done to her 15 years old daughter, he begged her to forget the incident. And he also promised to pay her a huge sum of money if she agreed to die the issue. In all these, he never made his son apologize to them.
The old woman insisted that she wants justice for her grandchild and nothing more. But Adekunle Lawan, knowing she was poor and unlikely to stand up to him in court, felt she was making empty threats. So he rather stopped her from working for him. When he confronted his son, he said he did what he did under the influence of alcohol. And that was the last time Adekunle Lawan mentioned the case.
The poor woman on the quest of seeking justice for her granddaughter, was directed to journalist Funke Adesola (Oye’s mother) who was the mouthpiece of the poor. She was fearless and opposed any kind of injustice. Her writing was like a sword cutting through the hearts of evil politicians. And she was the nightmare of all who do evil to the poor.
When journalist Funke heard the poor woman’s story, she went ahead to interview her granddaughter, who was so afraid to speak out because of the threats Gerald had made towards her.
After reviewing her case, journalist Funke took offense and was determined to expose Adekunle Lawan’s son to the whole world.
She took the girl to the hospital where her husband Shegun Adesola worked. There they did various tests on her and also gave her medication. After that, Journalist Funke took it upon herself to make sure justice was served. But unfortunately, no lawyer was willing to try Adekunle Lawan’s son because his father was a well-known politician.
Some of them advised her to drop the case and go collect money from the man instead of wasting her time fighting meaningless and fruitless battles. But she refused, saying she had to make sure the whole world knew what kind of person Adekunle Lawan’s son was.
When it seemed like all hope was lost, her husband introduced her to his female colleague Dr. Mrs. Bisola Akinwale (Bayo’s mother). Whose husband (Ade Akinwale) was a lawyer and advocate for the poor.
After hearing her story, Dr. Mrs. Bisola took the case to her husband, who took an interest in it. And willingly decided to stand trial against the son of Adenkule Lawan.
That was when the problem started. Journalist Funke began dragging Adekunle Lawan and his wayward son on her blog. She went on pleading and seeking for justice. And since she was a very popular blogger and well-known journalist, it didn’t take long for the news to go viral both online and offline. And so many people started expressing their disappointment at Adekunle Lawan’s inability to put his son in order. Some started saying they couldn’t vote for a man who supports rape. People continued to demand justice for the poor innocent girl.
The case brought Bayo and Oye’s family together and they gradually became friends. But their children Bayo and Oye were not close because Bayo often made fun of Oye for losing her teeth.
Seeing that the rape saga would hurt his chances of winning the election, Adekunle Lawan contacted his boy (Afolabi) to silence the young girl and her grandmother for life.
Afolabi successfully carried out the act and made it look like a suicide. Before killing the girl, he had her write a suicide note that said:
“I and my grandmother decided to take our own lives because we couldn’t take the guilt of lying against an innocent man. And I want the whole world to know that I was not raped as I claimed. I said everything I said because I and my grandmother believed that this would be the easiest way to get huge money from Adekunle Lawan. Because we urgently needed money at the time. And I hope that the world would forgive our thoughtless actions. Once again, we are deeply sorry. ”
When the news of their deaths and the suicide note broke out, the public began to blast journalist Funke for spreading false news and inciting hatred against an innocent man. So many people were disappointed in her and some went so far as to unfollow her blog.
Their deaths made Journalist Funke and Lawyer Ade so angry. That they swore to make sure justice was served regardless of what happened. They had the support of their partners, both of whom were doctors. And based on the test results held by Dr. Shegun (Oye’s father), Lawyer Ade Akinwale (Bayo’s father) vowed to reopen the case and that he would not stop until justice was served.
Afolabi’s wife, who knew what her husband was into, kept having problems with him. But he didn’t care. All he wanted was money and power. He was willing to sacrifice everything for his boss, Adenkunle Lawan, who promised to pay him well after the elections.
When Adekunle Lawan found out how stubborn and persistent Lawyer Ade and Journalist Funke were, he decided to silence them for life. It was then that he ordered Afolabi to eliminate them in a natural manner that would not arouse public suspicion, as he would not risk losing his election for anything.
Afolabi rented a truck, which he used to wipe out both families in different locations on a highway on the same day. He made their deaths looked like an accident when in fact, it was a murder.
One night when Afolabi returned from accomplishing another bloody task for Adekunle Lawan, his wife, who was fed up with his evil lifestyle, caught him with a gun and a blood-stained cloth.
She then threatened to report him to the police as she was completely fed up with his evil ways. Fearing that she might get him in trouble, Afolabi had no choice but to strangle her in their living room. But unknown to him, his 7-year-old daughter (Abeni) watched the entire scene from where she stood peeping through the door.
After successfully killing her, he made it appear as if she had committed suicide because she could not withstand their current financial situation.
Upon hearing that Bayo had survived the accident, Afolabi became afraid that Adekunle Lawan would find out and get offended for a job half done. And to keep it from him, he went ahead to adopt Bayo.
* * * * * * *
Present day.
As Bayo reviewed the investigation reports, his heart was filled with pain and sadness. Mainly because he has been living with his parents’ killer for 18 years.
Oye didn’t miss out either. She didn’t know how to react to the truth that lay before her. The three of them were victims of the conspiracy of Chief Afolabi and ex-governor Adekunle Lawan that happened 18 years ago.
With anger, Bayo got up from his seat and asked.
“What is the name of Adekunle Lawan’s so? The one who is currently contesting for the governorship position.” He asked.
“He is the same Gerald Lawan who was the sole cause of our parents’ deaths,” Oye said, wiping away her tears.
“The only mistake they made was letting me live. Because now, just like 18 years ago, they will all feel my wrath. I will make them plead and pray for death. I’ll show them what it feels like to trample on the innocent. Since they know how to kill and make it look like suicide, I’ll apply the same measure to them. Forgive me Oye For I am about to break my promise not to spill blood in the course of this revenge.” Bayo said clenching his fist.
“Let me know if you need my help,” Oye said with a straight face.
“Let’s show them how to play this dirty game,” Abeni said with a mischievous smile on her lips.
“Yes, it’s high time we turned the table and let them have a taste of their own food,” Bayo said.
It’s gonna be bloody, let it flow