chapter 9 : The Trial
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*Chapter 9: The Trial*
The courtroom in Abuja smelled like old wood, perfume, and fear.
Ada sat between Mama and Chike. Her father sat 2 rows ahead with EFCC lawyers. He wasn’t allowed to talk to them yet. “Witness protection,” they said.
For 2 years she thought he was dead. Now she couldn’t look at him without crying.
“All rise. The Honorable Justice Amina Bello presiding.”
Senator Danladi Bello walked in with 6 lawyers. White agbada. Gold glasses. Smiling like he was at a party.
Obiora Nwosu was already in the dock. Handcuffed. He wouldn’t look at Ada.
The charges were read: _Conspiracy to commit murder. Bribery. Land fraud. Kidnapping._
Ada’s hands shook. This was it.
*Week 1: The Prosecution*
EFCC brought the video. Her father’s 4-minute confession played on a big screen.
“...Danladi Bello ordered my death. He owns the police in Enugu...”
Danladi laughed in court. “Deepfake,” his lawyer said. “AI. This girl and her family are after money.”
Then they played the second video. From the micro SD card. Night vision. Obiora and 2 men pushing Tunde off the roof.
The courtroom gasped.
Obiora broke down. “He made me do it! The Senator said if I didn’t, he’d kill my family!”
Danladi’s smile vanished.
Ada testified on Day 4.
“State your name.”
“Adaeze Tunde Adebayo.”
“How old are you?”
“17.”
“Can you tell the court what happened?”
She told everything. The texts. The voice notes. The k********g. Chike. The cabin.
When she finished, Danladi stared at her. Cold.
His lawyer stood. “Miss Adebayo. Isn’t it true your father owed the Senator money?”
“No.”
“Isn’t it true you fabricated these texts to extort him?”
“No.”
“Isn’t it true—”
“Objection!” EFCC lawyer cut in. “She’s a minor.”
Ada looked at her dad. He gave her a small nod. _Be strong._
*Week 2: The Threats*
It started small.
A brick through their hotel window. Note: _“Withdraw the case.”_
Mama’s car tires slashed.
Chike’s school called: “Someone tried to pick him up. Said he was his uncle.”
Police protection doubled.
At night, Ada couldn’t sleep. She kept checking the locks.
Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.
_“Your father should have stayed dead. Last chance.”_
She showed Dike. He traced it. Burner phone. Bought in Abuja.
“Senator’s men,” he said. “We’ll catch them.”
But they didn’t.
*Week 3: Uncle Emeka’s Tape*
EFCC found something in Emeka’s house. After he died.
A cassette tape. Labeled _“For Ada - if I’m gone”_
In court, they played it.
Emeka’s voice, shaky:
“Ada, if you’re hearing this, I’m sorry. The night Papa died, I saw the Senator there. He was on the roof with Obiora. He told me ‘keep your mouth shut or your sister dies.’ I was scared. I ran. I’ve been scared for 2 years. But you’re braver than me. Finish this. For Papa. For us.”
The court was silent.
Danladi stood up. “This is a lie! This man was a drunk!”
“Sit down, Senator,” the judge snapped.
*Week 4: The Verdict Approaches*
The defense called witnesses. Paid witnesses.
“A Tunde Adebayo tried to blackmail the Senator.”
“The daughter is unstable. She has mental issues.”
Ada cried that night. “They’re calling me a liar, Daddy.”
Her father hugged her. “Truth is loud, Ada. Lies are loud too. But truth lasts.”
On Friday, the judge said: “We will deliver judgment on Monday.”
That weekend, nothing felt safe.
*Sunday Night: The Fire*
2:14am. Smoke alarm.
“FIRE!” Mama screamed.
Their Abuja safe house was burning. Someone threw petrol through the kitchen window.
They ran out in pajamas. Police carried Chike.
Firefighters came. The house was half gone.
Standing across the street, in the dark, was a man. Watching.
When police ran to him, he was gone.
On Ada’s phone: _“You have 24 hours. Drop the case or the next fire is with you inside.”_
*Monday: Judgment Day*
The courtroom was packed. Press. Cameras.
Ada wore her father’s old shirt under her dress. For courage.
Justice Bello cleared her throat.
“After reviewing all evidence, including video, audio, and testimony...”
Ada held her breath.
“...this court finds Senator Danladi Bello GUILTY on all counts.”
Gasps. Clapping.
“Senator Danladi Bello is sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Councilman Obiora Nwosu, 25 years.”
Danladi stood. “You’ll regret this!” he shouted as they dragged him away.
He looked straight at Ada. “This isn’t over, girl.”
*1 Week Later*
Life was different.
They moved back to Enugu. New house. Gated. 24hr security.
The land was now officially _Tunde Adebayo Memorial School_. Building would start next year.
Her father was still in protection, but he could come home on weekends. Disguised.
Chike started school again. With bodyguards.
Ada started online classes for WAEC.
Things were quiet. Too quiet.
*Day 10 After Verdict*
Ada was in her room studying when her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
_“Court is over. But we’re not. Check your email.”_
She opened her email. Anonymous.
Attachment: Video.
She pressed play.
It was her. Yesterday. Walking from the gate to her room. From inside the house.
Then another video. Chike playing football. From the backyard fence.
Then a photo. Her father, coming out of the house at 6am. Disguised with a cap.
A text: _“We’re inside. You have 48 hours to appeal the case. Or we start with the little boy.”_
Ada’s blood froze.
“They’re inside the security,” she whispered.
She ran to her father. Showed him.
His face went hard. “They have a mole. In the police. In EFCC. Maybe even here.”
Dike was called. He watched the videos. “This is bad. We need to move you. Tonight.”
*That Night: The Move*
2 vans. 8 officers.
They left at 1am. Destination: secret location.
Halfway, the lead van’s tire burst.
“Ambush!” Dike shouted.
Gunshots. From the bush.
Ada ducked. Chike screamed. Mama prayed.
Her father pulled her down. “Stay low.”
15 minutes of hell.
When it stopped, 2 officers were dead. 3 injured.
The attackers were gone.
But one thing was left on the road.
A phone. Buzzing.
Dike picked it up. Video playing.
Danladi. From prison. On a video call.
Smiling. “Hello Ada. Told you it wasn’t over.”
The call cut.
*Day 2*
They made it to the new safe house. In the middle of nowhere.
No phones. No internet.
Ada felt like she was in prison.
Her father sat with her. “I’m sorry. I brought this to you.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said. “We’ll fight.”
That night, she couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about Danladi’s face on the phone.
How did he call from prison?
*Day 3*
Breakthrough.
EFCC arrested a prison warden. He’d been giving Danladi a smuggled phone.
They raided Danladi’s cell. Found 3 phones. Lists of names. Including _Ada Adebayo. Chike Adebayo. Tunde Adebayo._
With ticks next to them.
Ada’s name had a red circle.
“They’re not done,” Dike said. “Even from prison, he’s trying.”
*Day 5*
Ada had an idea.
“If he can reach us, we can reach him.”
Her father looked at her. “What are you thinking?”
“Bait. We pretend to agree. To appeal. Then we catch who comes.”
Dike didn’t like it. “Too dangerous.”
“It’s the only way,” Ada said. “He wants me. So let him come for me.”
*Day 7: The Plan*
They sent a message from the burner phone.
_“We’ll appeal. Meet us. Alone. Old Tunde Adebayo School site. Midnight.”_
12 hours later, reply: _“Come alone. Or the boy dies.”_
Ada went. With 20 officers hidden. Drones. Snipers.
Midnight. The school site. Bush everywhere.
A car pulled up. One man got out.
Not Danladi. A lawyer.
He had a paper. “Sign this. Say you lied. Say your father is alive and framing the Senator.”
Ada pretended to read. Then she looked up. “Where’s my brother?”
The man smiled. “Safe. For now.”
That was the signal.
Lights. Police.
The man ran. Was caught.
In his pocket: another phone. And a key.
To a storage facility in Owerri.
*Day 8: The Storage*
Inside: Weapons. Money. And files.
Files on 12 families. All people who fought Danladi over land.
And a laptop. Open. On a video call.
Danladi. In prison. Watching them.
“Hello Ada,” he said. “You’re very smart. Like your father.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because this land is mine. And you stole it from me.”
“You killed my father.”
“I corrected a mistake.”
Dike cut the connection.
Danladi was moved to a maximum security prison. No phones. No visitors.
*2 Weeks Later*
Quiet again.
Real quiet.
Ada wrote WAEC. Passed. 6 As.
She got admission to study Law. “To fight people like him,” she told her dad.
Chike was okay. Back to annoying her daily.
Mama started a foundation for families of victims of land grabbing.
Her father could finally come home without disguise.
*Last Night*
Ada was on the roof. Staring at stars.
Her phone buzzed.
She almost didn’t check.
It was her dad’s number.
_“I’m proud of you, lawyer-to-be. Sleep well. -Dad”_
She smiled and typed back: _“I will. Love you.”_
No reply.
She went inside.
Before bed, she checked the locks. Twice.
Old habits.
As she lay down, she heard it.
A car. Slowing down outside the gate.
She sat up.
The car stopped. Engine off.
Silence.
Then — a text. Unknown number.
_“Goodnight, Ada. Sweet dreams.”_
She ran to the window.
The car was gone.
But on the road, in chalk, were 3 words:
_WE ARE WATCHING_
Ada closed the curtain.
The trial was over.
But the war wasn’t.
---
*End of Chapter 9*
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