Justice, Law and The City

13

Hope laid on her bed scrolling through her Instagram feed. Celebrities were voicing out their displeasure with the recent turn of events. She paused on a video where a famous blogger was in the very act of bashing the Inspector General. "Why should the ones entrusted with protecting us be the ones taking our lives?" Others simply asked for a reform in the arm forces.

The buzz had spread to different states and like a wildfire and quickly it was raging, the masses angry over another death.

Suddenly she paused over a video, the celebrities in it were seated around a table fixing date for a nation-wide protest, same day, same time but in different states.

"Last-last all this things na scam." Abigail's voice distracts her.

Hope gives her a lopsided grin. It would be nice if they went through with the protest, she thought.

"You know what I don't understand is how all these people –" she makes motions in the air showing that she is directing her speech to those who had lost their life before she continues. "– knowing that SARS kill still end up arguing with them over their phones."

Hope cocks her if as if she smelled faeces and for the first time since Abigail started talking turned and gave her full attention. "Meaning?" she asks in-between shock.

Abigail laughs and Hope battles with the thought that it was the ugliest thing she'd ever heard. "I mean.... come on, is it that they don't know that the only thing they would get from arguing was death?"

"No, they did not forget that they would die but they hoped they wouldn't."

"Well see where hoping got them...dead!"

Hope is boiling red but she forces herself to simmer down. She turns back to her phone but then as if on second thought turns to Abigail. "They have rights Abigail. It's their property, bought with their hard end cash." Her voice picks a few tempos and Abigail notices.

"I know you're a law student and all, but this is Nigeria, they should have known their country by now. And some of them are Yahoo boys.... it's not entirely their money."

Hope dumbfounded by her reply looks at her as Abigail looks away clearly unbothered. "Wow!"

"What?"

"You're really pathetic." Hope says as she plugs in her pods clearly putting an end to the unfinished discussion. She turned her back to Abigail, facing the wall and pressing her not seeing anything for the tears that clouded her eyes. She only let the tears drop when she was sure Abigail had slept, then the tears fell. She held her chest as her hands hovered over Tammy's pictures. He wasn't a Yahoo boy.

************

"Because there is no time, I will leave the remaining heading to you guys to study, there will be a presentation in class when next we meet." Barr Ifeoma voice boomed. She motioned to the course rep who came forward carrying her laptop. She suddenly stopped and turned back to the class. "May I borrow your time please?"

The class groans but they sit still either way. She goes off about the ethics of a law student before she hit home. Apparently, someone had been outspoken on the radio against the governance of the nation and the faculty had recognized the name and traced the voice. Silence falls, dense and damp, everyone in realization of who was being spoken about. Some dart a look in his direction. Osaz buries his head.

"I have said this time without number, we are watching all of you. Don't forget that we are the ones who will make it possible to send you to law school." She continues. "Be careful, this is a sober profession and if you are not careful, there will be grave repercussions." She says wiggling her finger at no one in particular. Then swiftly she motions to the course rep who walks out before she does but not until she adds. "A word is enough for the wise."

The moment the door closes the class is thrown into an uproar. "So, we cannot speak out again because we are 'law students.' Rubbish."

"Dry lecturers everywhere!"

Adesuwaa walks to the front of the class and wiggles her finger. "Be careful, this is a sober profession and if you are not careful, there will be grave repercussions."

"Hmphh, you people should not talk before some report cards take you to the dean oh." At this the class erupts into laugh, even the judas joins in.

Hope buries her head down as she reads the textbook in her lap in preparation for the presentation.