the guardians, a story by mynd44

Episode 3

IBK got out of the small sedan he was driving
and walked slowly towards the bank without
stopping to look at either side. He passed
through the crowd of eager on lookers who were
trying to get a glimpse of what was happening
inside the bank while the policemade the crowd
stand some distance away from the bank so
they would be able to gather whatever
information they could gather which might help
to catch the robbers. IBK walked towards the
bank and when he got to the front of the crowd,
he was stopped by a young policeman clutching
an automatic rifle;
“You cannot go beyond this point”
IBK smiled at him and said;
“I just want another look at what happened here,
nothing else”
The officer now getting impatient said;
“The orders here are that no one should cross
this line so move back or you would be looking
for more trouble than you can handle”
IBK knew within himself that the police officer
was acting a script but he just enjoys playing
with people and trying to get them angry at him
because most people tend to reveal who they
really are while angry. He reached into his
pocket and brought out an identity cad card and
handed it over to the young officer. The officer
initially refused to collect the card but he did
eventually and without inspecting it twice, moved
out of IBK’s way as IBK kept walking.
He walked up to another officer and asked;
“Who is in charge here?” he spoke and brought
out the same identity card at the same time as
the officer pointed to a large man with a
protruding belly standing in one corner barking
orders to everyone and IBK said......

“That is him?”
“The officer stared at IBK nervously and said;
“Yes sir, that’s him”
“Okay. Carry on with whatever it is you are
doing”
IBK walked to the large man and walked through
the entrance of the bank. He looked inside and
shook his head sadly as he saw the security door
on the ground.
He thought to himself;
“These people have been taught how better to
install their darned doors but they never listen.
This is what they get in return but at least the
bank is insured and they will get their money
back”
He got to the front of the leader of the team
who was shouting into his phone to someone
who sounded like a reporter;
“I have told you earlier, this is an ongoing
investigation and for now, I have no comment. If
you want a briefing, you can speak with the
commissioner. I am sure he will be glad to
answer any question you have for him”
He hung up and looked at IBK;
“Yes, who are you and what do you want? You’d
better not be another new reporter or I will have
you locked up”
IBK shook his head and said;
“If I was a reporter, you have no right to lock me
up; the worst you can do if have me removed
from the crime scene and nothing else. If you
lock me up, it is an abuse of office and an
infringement of my rights as a citizen because I
am only doing my job to inform the citizens as to
what is happening and what the police is doing
to catch the criminals and make sure this sort of
thing does not happen again”
The large man saw the sense in what he said
but he was not about to be swayed by the words
of a reporter;
“By the time I lock you up for a week, you will
cry all you want and there is nothing anyone will
do to me”
“That’s what you think. I can always get a lawyer
and sue the Nigerian police in which case you
are likely to get fired or at least, suspended. But
that is not the point of me coming here neither
am I a reporter. I just need some information
from you concerning what happened here”
The police office looked at the man in front of
him surprised that he could be referred to in that
tone and he said;
“Who are you? And why do you want to know
about the robbery? You better start talking now
young man before I have you arrested for
obstruction of justice”
IBK thought to himself;
“Not a very smart man but he would be of use
anyway”
He pulled his identity card from his pocket and
handed it to the officer and the man looked at
the picture to compare it with that of the person
standing in front of him.
“Okay so you are a State Security Service agent,
what do you want to know? Or you want to take
over this investigation? I would like it if you do
as I will go home and go spend the remaining of
this day on my bed”
IBK smiled.
“I am not taking over but I was just curious
about something”
“And what will that be?” the police shot back
“I saw that you shot some of the robbers andI
am hoping that they left their guns behind”
The officer did not allow him finish before
cutting in;
“If you want the guns, you will have to apply
through my superiors. I am not about to hand
over those guns to you just because you waived
an identity card in my face”
IBK was not even pissed at the officer
neitherwas he surprised at his behavior, he got
this kind of treatment a lot from policemen and
he was used to it.
“I don’t want those guns, I just want their
manufacturer’s number at I am good. I realize
that you might not want to give them to me now
because let’s face it, my ID card might be fake
but I will drop my number and you can call my
office. When you have done your confirmation,
you can send the numbers to me through the
contacts they give you. But a word of advice,
better not play around with this else it will be the
end of your career”
That said, IBK handed a card to the man and he
turned back and walked away in the direction of
his car. He did not really concern himself with if
they caught the robbers or notas that was not
his concern but in the past few months, he had
been tracking a series of high profile robberies
and they all seemed to use the same type of
guns. He wanted to see if where the guns were
made was identical so he would be able to draw
a pattern.
He barely got to his car when his phone rang.He
pulled up along the road and checked who it was
and saw that it was the deputy director in charge
of the South Western operations,
“Mr Hassan, good morning”
“Good morning Ibukun, how is your day going?”
IBK thought he was asking about the bank
robbery and he said;
“I am coming from the scene of the robbery, the
police shot two of them but one of them is alive,
I asked for the number on the guns they dropped
so I can compare with what I have with me, it
seems it is the same guns in circulation and that
is true, then it means Chief Jegede has been
selling guns imported in the name of the Police
to criminals”