Bury my sins 13

(AT MR. CHUKWUMA'S COMPOUND)

Mr. Chukwuma sat in front of his compound, wearing a wrapper around his waist and holding a chewing stick in his mouth. He was enjoying the evening breeze when he heard a knock on the gate.

"Come in, the gate is open," Mr. Chukwuma said, taking a sip from the palm wine on the stool beside him.

A suited man with a tie walked in and approached Mr. Chukwuma. "Good day, Mr. Chukwuma," the lawyer said, handing him a brown envelope.

Mr. Chukwuma took the envelope and opened it. He pulled out the letter inside and read:

"To Mr. Chukwuma,

You are hereby summoned to appear in court on June 28 at 9:00 AM at the Lagos High Court. You are required to answer to allegations of fraudulent acquisition of the Olamide family property.

Please take notice that you must appear in person, as failure to do so may result in a default judgment.

Sincerely,

Lawyer Kunle"

Mr. Chukwuma's eyes widened as he read the letter with worries on his face. He attempted to sound brave and hide his concerns. 

"What do you mean by fraudulent acquisition of property? Mr. Olamide borrowed money from me before he passed away. The house documents were what he used as collateral, and that's what makes me the rightful owner of the house now."

The lawyer replied, "We shall meet in court then, Mr. Chukwuma. Whether the properties were acquired dubiously or not, I am certain you are coming to court with your evidence, and I have mine too."

As the lawyer turned to leave, Mr. Chukwuma called out to him and tried to persuade him. "Wait, please come back. It's hot outside; why don't you take a seat and join me for a drink?"

The lawyer hesitated. "I appreciate the offer, but I have a busy schedule and other clients to attend to today. Is there something specific you'd like to discuss?"

"Yes," Mr. Chukwuma tried to persuade him further, "You're a reasonable man, lawyer, I can tell from how responsible you look. You see, in my community, everything has a price. So, what would it take for you to drop this case?"

The lawyer smiled politely. "Thank you, Mr. Chukwuma, but we'll settle this in court. Don't forget to arrive by 9:00 AM. I'll see you there." He excused himself, leaving him to ponder his next move.

Mr. Chukwuma quickly dialed his friend's phone number, Mr. Ade, a court clerk with a reputation for flexibility in legal matters. 

"Mr. Ade, I think we have a problem," Mr. Chukwuma said over the phone. "A lawyer just walked into my compound and served me a court summons, claiming I fraudulently acquired the property of Mr. Olamide."

Mr. Ade's voice was calm on the other end as he listened to Chukwuma. "Don't worry, Mr. Chukwuma. Did you say anything to the lawyer?"

"No, I didn't," Mr. Chukwuma replied. "In fact, I confronted him and asked what evidence he had to support his claims."

"Good work then, Mr. Chukwuma. If they want to take this to court, we'll meet them there. Don't worry, I've got your back," Mr. Ade said.

Chukwuma felt relieved and assured. "Thank you, Mr. Ade. I owe you one."

Mr. Ade chuckled. "Just remember, our agreement remains the same. You know what I mean, right?"

With that, the two men ended their call, waiting to counter the lawyer Aminat had hired for Mr. Olamide's daughters.

 

(IN THE COURTROOM)

The following day in court, the judge carefully looked at the two property documents presented before him by the two defense lawyers. He put on his glasses to see better because the documents were beginning to confuse him.

After a moment, he declared, "The evidence presented before me 

 is inconclusive, and I deem both house documents null and invalid."

Aminat and Mr. Olamide's daughters quickly exchanged worried glances among themselves in the courtroom.

The judge continued, "Do you have any additional evidence to support your claims?" He said while staring at the defense lawyer for Mr. Olamide, and also at the defense lawyer for Mr. Chukwuma. "If there is no further evidence, I will have to adjourn the case until another day."

The courtroom fell silent again with all eyes on the judge as he prepared to rule. Just then, the defense lawyer for Mr. Olamide's daughters spoke up, "Objection, your honor!"

The judge nodded, "Proceed."

The lawyer explained, "I'd like to present audio evidence to support my claim."

The judge granted permission, and the lawyer Aminat hired brought out a Bluetooth speaker and turned it on in the courtroom. 

He played a voice recording of Mr. Chukwuma attempting to bribe him and asking him to drop the case when he went to his compound to drop a court summons letter.

The courtroom immediately erupted into murmurs after listening to the voice recording, and a clerk called out, "Silence everyone!"

The room quieted, and all eyes turned to Mr. Chukwuma. The judge asked him sternly, "Mr. Chukwuma, would you like to explain why you tried to bribe the lawyer to drop the case if you were confident in the authenticity of your documents?"

Mr. Chukwuma's face turned pale as he struggled to come up with a response. He began to stammer, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Objection, your honor!" His defense lawyer tried to intervene, but the court denied him.

Mr. Chukwuma continued, "I stole the documents, but Lawyer Ade told me they were fake. I said I didn't want to pursue the properties anymore, but he insisted there was a way to do it and he came up with the plan. It was all his idea." Chukwuma tried to shift the blame to his lawyer friend.

The courtroom murmured in shock and side talks again, and the clerk stood up to restore order. "Silence!" he commanded with his firm voice.

"This is my judgment," the chief judge declared after Chukwuma's confession, and the courtroom fell silent.

"Mr. Chukwuma, you are found guilty of stealing documents and attempting to illegally take over properties. Your sentence is five years in prison, and you must pay a fine of two million naira to the family of the deceased as restitution for the harm you have caused them."

The judge turned his gaze to Mr. Ade. "And you, Mr. Ade, as a lawyer who knowingly aided Mr. Chukwuma's illegal activities, you are also sentenced to five years in prison. You will be disbarred, and your license to practice law will be revoked."

The judge banged his gavel on the desk, and the court rose as the verdict was delivered.

Loveth and Grace were overjoyed and unable to believe their eyes as they gazed at the property documents now back in their possession.

They embraced Aminat with tears of gratitude streaming down their faces. "Thank you, Aminat, thank you for standing by us," they repeated, their voices filled with emotion.

Mr. Olamide's ghost, now at peace too, smiled as he watched the scene unfold before him. His mission was accomplished, and it was time for him to move on to the afterlife after seeing that his daughters were in safe hands.

That same day, Aminat returned home feeling happy because she had helped in some way. She pulled out her bucket list and checked off the task she had just completed. But as she did, a sudden thought struck her mind, and she realized Pastor Solomon's ghost is still out there, in need of her help too.

---

To be continued……

Title: “Bury my sins, not me”

Chapter 13