The Graced Fellow
“Yeah, we made it! A successful operation it was! Millions here and there! Check out the way we wasted the police men that came after us! Wow! Such an awesome experience! Tonight, mates, we’re going to celebrate this success with bottles of Vodka and women to keep us company! Hooo! Alice, you are good at what you do best! Such an informant you’ve been to us! Bode, give her twenty thousand pounds. She’s done a great job!” The words spoken by Mahjid, leader of the dreaded but famous seven-member robbery gang, The Notorious Circle at their rendezvous, The Bar’s Nite Club.
The Notorious Circle was a secret cult that had not only constituted a nuisance in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria but also been a thorn on the flesh of Nigerian security force. In fact, to all and sundry living in Nigeria, the gang was a household name because of the incessant attacks they mounted. Their targets were the generally super-rich class of individuals; business gurus, politicians, industrialists and merchants. Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt were bee-hives of their core activities.
It had been said by those who had being at the receiving end of their wrath that they killed, maimed and raped women when they carry out the dastardly act of robbery and carted away with all of their valuables; money, jewelries and other precious items. What was puzzling was the fact that The Notorious Circle were just a seven –man robbery squad that men of the security force in the country experienced hard-nut-to-cracks to figure whom they were. All through the nineties, they were on the pages of the national newspapers, lips of presenters and security analysts until the long arms of the law caught up with them!
The Notorious Circle was founded by Mahjid, who spent most of his growing years in Nigeria, was the son of the famous Mustapha Chippo, Moroccan ambassador to Nigeria. He later joined forces with James Peters, Liberian by origin, Gary White, South African by nationality, Dan Kabilah from the Central African Republic, Marple Harambee from Kenya, Laurent Pies from Cameroun and in an odd circumstance, Bode, Nigerian by blood; the youngest of them all. They were all based in Nigeria and were sons of men of eminent figures except for Bode.
James Peters was the son of the Liberian politician John Peters who owned houses in many parts of Lagos, especially Victoria Island and Victoria Garden City. James P, as he was fondly called, was a student of the University of Lagos, studying law. He occupied his dad’s five-bedroom duplex at the Victoria Garden City (VGC). Gary White, a mulatto, was the son of the Gold Merchant, Miller White, who believed in Nigeria and hence, decided to leave most of his life in Nigeria. He married Sade Da Silva, a Nigerian, who gave birth to Gary White. Dan Kabilah was a carbon copy of his father Isa Kabilah, a prominent international negotiator between Central African Republic and Nigeria. Isa and his family occupied a spacious two-million-naira apartment at Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Marple Harambee was the son of the famous Kenyan Hotelier, Barak Harambee who recently launched his five-star hotel in Nigeria. Marple preferred to stay in Nigeria than Kenya. His father acquired a duplex at Allen Avenue in Lagos, Nigeria and placed him in charge of his hotel affairs in Nigeria. Laurent Pies, son of business guru, Traore Pies, was born and grew up in Nigeria. He lived in a four-bedroom bungalow at Victoria Island all to himself. He was very comfortable!
Alice, a party-hard, club, out-spoken and ostentatious girl, was the daughter of James George; Minister for information in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. Alice had been working with the Notorious Circle for donkey years. She has never failed in her duties of accurately rendering to-the-letter information. Her accurate information played a pivotal role in the successes of their operations. Howbeit, this time, Alice’s loop-holed information led to the waterloo of the group. Being a prevailing national security issue, the country’s security force intensified all efforts to fish out all the members and bring them to book.
To beef-up the security of the state and the entire nation, using Lagos-expressly consented to by the Lagos State government- as a starting point, a female undercover was sent to be friends with Alice to uncover certain information about the group. This union eventually gave Agent Comfort Peace, the undercover person, the opportunity of unearthing the can of worms of activities of the group. Agent Comfort Peace, a professionally trained Para-psychologist, was able to accomplish her assignment. The security force was well-equipped with necessary details regarding their mode of operations and who the group members were. Indeed, the force was ready to give The Notorious Circle a showdown.
In her usual braggadocio disposition, at the Lagos Bar’s Nite Club, she spilled out the milk of a
Multi-million dollar worth of information to the group members. A life-time opportunity, they thought, this was. Their countenances said it all! But they were wrong! By the way, the Bar’s Nite Club was the rendezvous of the group’s members. “There is a certain politician, by name Senator Isa Mohammed. We have to be fast because in the next three days, a sum of two hundred million dollars will be sent to his residence at Suleja, Abuja. I heard he did a business deal that landed him the net return. The coast is a clear one as his bank manager will personally deliver it to him at about 9.00p.m. So, it’s about time you guys prepared the way for yourselves .As for me, I’m done with my assignment! It’s up to you to do your part and come with my ten-percent commission.” she said.
“We got you,” replied Mahjid who nodded his head in approval of Alice’s information. “We have to move right now, lodge in Star-Fold Hotels, few houses away from his house, Mahjid instructed, “and with our usual plans, strike him and his entire household hard. And moving away with our life-changing destiny will be no big deal!”
The group had no clue that the wall had ears; they were mufti-wearing combat security men stationed at the club. Though pretending to be catching-fun individuals, they got all they needed to make The Notorious Circle history.
Within the next twenty hours, the group members arrived at the planned destination; The Star-Fold Hotels. They took along with them sophisticated fire-arms they bought illegally, thanks to James Peters’ shipped fire-arms from his gun collector shop in Liberia. They had no faintest idea that the mufti-wearing security men carefully followed them to the hotel. At about 9.00p.m of day three, they raided Sen. Mohammed Isa’s residence. His life was spared through the eye of a needle as they met his absence but were fortunate enough to get away with the two-hundred million dollar money. Sen. Isa Mohammed had just left his house to see off his manager to the airport. He would come to witness an entirely different scenario when he got to his place of residence. Not being able to sense danger, Mahjid and his partners in crime left some stones unturned-not getting to know how exposed they have been-the building was under siege by the men that followed them. They shot the gate-man, killed the stewards and took the money along with them. But they met their dead end!
As they were about leaving the building, they heard repeated microphone-amplified voices saying, “Put your hands at the back of your heads! Else, you will leave us with no choice than to open fire on you!” Recalcitrant they were, except for Bode, who showed reluctance as they were about heading out of the living room to the front yard already crowded by security men. Cleverly, Bode, as he was moving along with them, smartly traced his steps backwards towards the staircase that led to the guest room. Not quick enough to notice the sharp change, Mahjid and the rest of the gang rushed out to meet an over-powering number of armed men. Mahjid knew the end has come.
But like the Kamikazes, Mahjid instructed: “Let’s open fire on them. We are going to die proud and take down some of them. At the count of three, if you hear me say shoot, open fire! One! Two! Three!”
Before they could pull their triggers, James Peters, Dan Kabilah, Laurent Pies, Marple Harambee, Gary White and Mahjid all saw their inner-persons check out of their bodies only to watch how soaked in blood their flesh were. Quickly, Bode ran out, placing his hands over his head, to surrender himself. Although the money was recovered and returned to Sen. Isa, upon his return, Bode’s journey into the real world would begin.
Bode was tried by the Court of Justice in Abuja. After many deliberations and going by the evidences leveled against him by the government and judging by the testimonies given by those affected by the men of the underworld that included his involvement, the presiding Judge, Justice. Amos Jakande’s verdict was placed: “I hereby sentence you to eighteen years imprisonment with hard labour”. Bode was defenseless as he was not given the opportunity to vindicate his innocence during the course of the group’s orchestrated happenings. The session was witnessed by affected government officials and the public around that area, including Barrister Shade Johnson. She would pose a great influence in the life of bode in a not-far future.
Alice, at the time of hearing of Bode’s case, somehow, fled. Alice was with her father in Port-Harcourt when they heard about the case. Knowing what this would cost him, his family and present position of government office, James George sent Alice to the United Kingdom so that nobody would figure out her whereabouts. She was gone forever!
Shade Johnson was one of the listening audiences who witnessed Bode’s prison sentence by Justice Amos Jakande but questioned the reality of his judgment through her powerful intuitive powers. But as the professional ethics demanded, she needed irrefutable facts as evidences to seek re-dress of the issue in the court of law. She would get all but the truth from the horse’s mouth-Bode, who just served a year of his eighteen-year prison sentence. It took her three years of preparation.
Barrister Shade Johnson was born to a Nigerian father and British-American mother. She grew up partly in Nigeria, America and England but spent most of her growing years in London, though she was, on yearly basis, coming to Nigeria to see her father who owned chains of cement companies in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Attended to Elvis Primary School in Yorkshire, England, went to Kingston High School, British Colombia briefly and later, attended Hughes Memorial College in Essex, London, studied Psychology (major) and international relations (minor) at the Westlake College, Arizona, she had loads of cross-cultural experiences as she travelled for vacation in many countries around the world.
Because of her love for humanity, she returned to Nigeria to study Law at the University of Lagos because she was, at the time, just 20 years of age when she was done with her studies in the United States. She was engaged to John Philips, a British-Nigerian, whose parents were friends with her’s. John Philips and Shade Johnson had a lot of background similarities; class, race, education, and life’s philosophies. But one thing was apparently incompatible. This would manifest on time.
After three years of intense preparation, Shade Johnson knew the war ‘the battle of clemency’, as she called it, must be fought. Before she entered the war-front of the court’s jurisdiction, she needed to be fully armed with crystal-clear facts from an impeccable Bode’s account of his involvement in the gang’s activities that would be evidenced by Mr. Smith, a close friend of late Mahjid Chippo , former club owner, Bar Nite club who later became an evangelist. After all said and done, she was ready to go the extra-mile to bring tamper justice with mercy on the defenseless Bode whom she felt the verdict wasn’t properly administered.
Starting off, she went to the Ikoyi Maximum Security Prisons where Bode was serving his fifteenth year jail term. She sought from the jailer a time-out to speak with him. He brought Bode out of his prison ward and was made to seat eyeball-to-eyeball opposite to her. “Because you’re lawyer, I’ll only give you thirty minutes to discuss with him. After which, I’ll stop the conversation and take him to where he temporarily belongs”, the jailer said, as he kept an eye on both parties.
“I have heard you”, Shade said, looking with pity Bode’s poor state of health. “I‘ll do just that, sir! The jailer gave them space but still kept a look at them at the entrance point through which she entered in. “I’m Barrister Shade Johnson” she introduced herself to Bode and continued: “I’m here to help you. I was one of the few listening audiences who heard the Judge’s harsh verdict administered to you. By the way, I’m a freelance lawyer, poised to help the defenseless gain justice or clemency, were necessary. I have a recorder. I want you to tell me how you joined the group, your roles and involvements. I have a strong feeling you are actually innocent but I need to get all but the truth from you. Please, all I want is nothing but the truth and make it snappy because my time here is short!”
In a desperate need to be freed, Bode gave his candid account. He began his story:
I was born with a silver spoon to a family of six; three brothers and three sisters. Being the fifth in my family’s birth-line, I was the favorite amongst my siblings. My father was a sailor who had business investments that fetched money daily. My mother was a committed government worker and house wife. It was a full house when some men of the underworld famously known as The Notorious Circle raided our home, took all the valuables and money available. The most painful part of it was that I was, at the time of this ugly incident, about completing my National Diploma studies at The Grace Polytechnic when they took the lives of my father, mother, three sisters and two other brothers. Surprisingly, I was spared!
Mahjid, the gang leader, told the other members not to pull the trigger at me because ‘i see’, he said, ‘a potential in you. I’ll spare you!’ He told me I’d better go along with them. Else, I’d be shot to death. I was left with no option other than to be their second fiddle. My journey into the world of man’s inhumanity to man began.
The Bar’s Nite Club was the initiation ground where my indoctrination took place. The initiation rites were bizarre as I still see the indelible inscriptions on every part of my body. Time will not permit me to go into the details. According to Mahjid, all the other five members sacrificed their parents to become the most powerful and dreaded robbery gang in the country. This was because they were all disowned by their families on grounds of misdemeanors; rape, murder and other domestic violence! ‘To have our pound of flesh’, he asserted, ‘we went to seek divine powers’. ‘For the functionality of the acquired powers, we were instructed to take the lives of our parents’. Mahjid shocked me when he went ahead to say this: ‘our parents were all gathered in a conference room discussing pertinent issues of interest when the bomb exploded, sparing no one. ‘We planned the assassination’, he remarked, ‘thanks to Alice’s info!’ ‘The sacrifice, according to him, ‘was fulfilled!’ ‘Since your parents are dead’, he reasoned, ‘there was no need for a sacrifice’. After some bizarre processes of initiation, I was finally initiated and was named ‘The X-Man’.
They were connected to movers and shakers of the national affairs; they all came from influential homes. Alice, a fellow initiate, was on hand to dish accurate information that led to our successful robbery operations- she was linked to major activities involving top figures of the society because of her father’s position.
In all, I have been involved in five successful robbery operations. In all of the operations, we, as a gang, left our marks of destruction in the face of the affected individuals; murder, rape, molestation…Although I never committed murder, rape or molestation, I participated in the carting away of valuables, including money, I paid heavily with an irrevocable round of seventy-two strokes of horse whip. This had been my lot ever since until we caught in the act by the law.
Those who were victimized by our operations were politicians, business tycoons, oil merchants, industrialists and top bankers. We molested their under-age female daughters, wiped out their whole family or raped their daughters, if they had and more importantly, parted with huge sums of money and valuables as informed by Alice. We had our way out of the security checks of the police force and other relevant security agencies. Although I couldn’t handle the guns given to me to kill the targets and molest, if any, under-age females and stand the sight of blood, James Peters played my role perfectly. In return, I am flogged eighteen times by each of the members. I had to be hot-tempered and strong-willed in all the operations we took part in!
At the Bar’s Nite Club, during the night hours, was a spot where we unwind. Most times, Mahjid would confine in Mr. Smith all that went down during the course of every operation we participated. However, Alice’s lousy attitude would probably the very reason for our exposure.
I strongly feel that Mr. Smith will be instrumental for my innocence. You can contact him on phone +234806458888 and tell him Bode, the youngest member of the defunct The Notorious Circle, needs his assistance to actually vindicate me. I know he will help me out.
After a thirty-minute time-frame, Bode was taken back to the prison ward by the jailer. Fortunately, Barrister. Shade Johnson recorded all of Bode’s confessions. In tears, she weaved an affectionate ‘good-bye’ to Bode. The journey had just begun!
It took her a while to locate Mr. Smith, a traveling minister of God. Letting him know what had had happened to his then-client, Bode, he made up his mind to testify his favour. He was ball game with Shade Johnson! Subsequently, an appeal was made at the Ikeja Appeal Court revisit Bode’s case. The appeal, via the influence of her father, was accepted.
A forthnight later, the Ikeja Appeal Court hosted the presence of Mr. Smith, a witness to testify in Bode’s favour, Barrister Shade Johnson, Bode’s lawyer, her father and other persons who followed the case from the beginning. Justice Kayode Hughes presided the case and ordered clemency on his behalf by reducing the period of his prison sentence to only three months! After all said and done, Bode was exonerated!
“Thank God” he joyfully declared, in the court room, with tears dripping all over his face. “I will turn a new leaf, all for God’s glory!” After his release, Bode’s experience would never remain the same.
Having no place to go, Shade and her father, Mr. Peter Johnson, suggested Bode moved into his Victoria Garden City Mansion. Bode agreed. On getting to his place of residence, Bode vividly had a retrospect of the building being robbed two years ago by his gang; an operation which he took part. Mr. Peter Johnson forgave Bode when he told unveiled the shocking confession of robbing him a sum of two million dollars. “I take it that you’ve turned a new leaf. Then why should I hold any grudge against you? Why should I not believe in you? As it is, I know you are a changed person, indeed! My daughter told me all that had happened. So to this effect, I’ve decided to send you on a compulsory six-month training course in my companies in Ghana and South Africa. There, you’ll learn the dynamics of my business. You go for a three-week counseling and mental check-up to put you in the right frame of mind and flush out the mental scares of your past”, He said. “Are you okay with this offer?” he asked Bode.
Bode happily replied, “Yes!” He began the journey a week later.
While Bode was away undergoing the six-month training course at Mr. Johnson’s companies in Ghana and South Africa, Shade’s ten-year relationship with John Philips was becoming stronger as both parents were making preparations in a couple of months to consummate their relationship via the bond of marriage, expected to exist between them. There was a rumour that conveyed a negating part of her fiancé-it was said that he was bi-sexual. Seen as rumour, Shade took what she heard by deaf ears. She was so heavily engrossed in subsequent cases that having ‘the time to itemize a possible truth in this rumour’ as Sarah, her best friend, strongly advised, became impossible. Famed for the success of Bode’s vindication, her celebrity status won’t allow her to see the truth until the ‘right’ time!
Shortly after the end of his training program in Ghana and South Africa, Bode’s boarded KLM Airline landed at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport and was received by Shade and her father. In no time, Bode’s productivity earned him a managerial position in Mr. Johnson’s company in Lagos. It was at this point that Shade’s affection began to shift towards Bode. Bode, though noticed her gesture of passes at him, in and out of the office, concentrated on his duties. What was more striking was that all these while, Bode had secretly been admiring Shade but was shy to let it known to her! One thing led to the other!
Barrister Shade was on her way home in her Salon Car when Sarah weaved to call for her attention, at the popular O and A Club and bar, few houses from her Allen-Avenue house. “You’ll be surprised by what I’ll tell you. You thought your Philip was a straight person. You just dead wrong! All you need do is to go right into your house and see what he’s been doing with Dare, his supposed business partner!” Without saying a word, Shade quickly rushed in and met the greatest surprise of her life; Philip and Dare having direct sexual relations on her bed! Unable to control her rage, she threw at Philip, the two-thousand-dollar engagement ring at him and went off without waiting to hear what he had to say.
She was at her father’s place when she told him about the sad development. Shade got the backing of her father to call quits their ten-year standing relationship. Being a very principled lady, she made up her mind not to consider Philip again, since her desire to have Bode to take his place was fast growing strong. Despite Philip’s incessant attempts to make amends, Shade would put him at armslenght. His father had already given up on him. So, he would take the laws into his hands to win her love back.
Bode was proving difficult to get. She tried all she could to win his interest towards her but her attempts ended in wild goose chases. In desperation, she drugged his food and one thing led to the other and she became pregnant. Unhappy her dad was, he was left with no other option than to wed them. Although Bode and Shade went through hard times at the hands of Mr. Johnson, Bode was just a step away from his fortunes. Mr. Johnson, knowing his time is very near, willed his properties to Bode with a clause that he would be happily married to Shade for at least fifteen years as a test of his love for his daughter. Not only he met up with the condition, he loved her very much!
Bode’s new leaf was put to a serious test when Philip Johnson came incognito to his furnished duplex and beat him to a pulp. Ordinarily, Philip would have been a mere punching bag to him. But Bode’s changed attitude never took to cognizance a fight-back at Philip who attacked him unawares from behind. Hurriedly, Philip left the building, few minutes before Shade came in from work. She inquired of Bode, who was lying on the floor, losing blood, what had had happened before rushing him to the hospital. After Bode was admitted, Shade decided to charge the police to issue a warrant of arrest of Philip Johnson on grounds of battery.
Philip was later sentenced to three years jailed for three years. In all the years of his jail term, someone kept checking on him. That was Bode! On one occasion, during Bode’s usual visit, Philip, who had long been forgiven by Bode and never been visited by Shade (her father died of a protracted illness, months after he wrote his Will), as he was about taken back to his prison ward, tearfully said: “you are The Graced Fellow”.