One Hell Of A Night! (2)

“OH my God!” she said, what’s wrong with the food?” “Call me Taju or Tawa quickly…I’m dying,” he managed to say. But Tinu stood there, fretting and pretending.

Just then, by a stroke of luck Taju, his driver, strolled in and saw his boss reeling helplessly on the floor. “Ah!” Taju shouted hysterically, “Madam, what’s wrong with Oga? Let’s take him to the hospital!” Taju rushed towards him and helped him up. Kassim was taken to the hospital immediately.

His doctors quickly rushed him to the emergency ward and he was revived a few hours later. That was how Kassim escaped the first attempt on his life. Though Kassim escaped that first attempt, he was still very gullible and love-drunk that he never believed it was food poisoning, Tinu convinced him into believing it wasn’t food poisoning.

The third day Tinu went to see Banjo. “Gosh!” exclaimed Banjo. “How did he survive that?” “It’s miraculous, I just can’t explain it, Banjo…I put almost all the liquid in his food…” she replied.

“Anyway, Tinu, darling…we shouldn’t give up…because I want my son…I really…really want him,” he gesticulated, “you know what we have to do next.

Hired killers! Yes! He won’t escape that. He must surely die this second time.” “I think that’s a better idea,” Tinu said excitedly, ‘but how do we go about it?” “Leave that to me Tinu,” Banjo said confidently, “Just tell me what time we can find him at home.” “On a Sunday night,” she answered.

“Okay, be expecting the killers next Sunday,” he said. Sunday midnight came, and about 3 a.m Kassim was sleeping with his wife Tinu. Kassim had not the slightest inkling that he had a date with death.

At exactly 3.15a.m some seven men approached the gate of the sprawling mansion. They banged on the heavy iron gate. The gateman stirred and moved to demand who they were. Without much ado, some of the men jumped over the high fence and entered the compound, the gateman was manhandled and beaten to a state of coma.

The gate was thus opened for others, who wasted no time in gaining access into the main building. Before sleeping, Tinu had left open the main door to the building, so the killers wasted no time in entering the sitting room.

And unfortunately, Kassim woke up that particular time to ease himself in the gents. “Where is Kassim? Where’s he?” the fierce-looking killers hollered threateningly.

At that time Kassim, who was approaching the door, heard the noise. He was visibly shaken and wondered how they entered his house. With one heavy kick by one of the hefty men the door to his room opened. And Kassim came face-to-face with the killers.

In a jiffy, the men descended on him and started cudgeling him mercilessly. “What do you want?” he begged. “Your life!” they replied, they shot him on the legs, he fell down; and they used machete on him in the most deadly parts of his body – starting from his head.

They beat and inflicted serious wounds on him. Alas! Kassim was in a pool of blood. Tinu all the while had come out and started wailing and begging the killers to spare him.

She was shedding crocodile tears. The killer knew this and didn’t take her pleas seriously as they continued with their job.

Tawa, the housemaid, had woken up and was crying and begging the men to spare Kassim’s life. The killers locked all Kasim’s children in a room before the operation began.

About 30 minutes later, the killers left Kassim in a pool of his blood. Taju then helped Kassim up and Tawa joined him, but Kassim couldn’t stand on his feet. He was drenched with blood. They later rushed him to Mount Olivet Hospital in highbrow Victoria Island that midnight.

But surprisingly, by the awesome grace and power of the Almighty God Kassim survived that tragic assault on his person again. The killers had left him in his pool of blood, thinking he was dead by all indication. Tinu even thought he was completely dead. Taju and Tawa the housemaid didn’t disclose the hospital Kassim was receiving treatment because they suspected it was the handiwork of an insider.

Tinu thought her husband was dead, thus she took over his vast estate and business concerns. She withdrew close to N5 million from Kassim’s account the following Monday. She started using all Kassim’s exotic cars including Lexus Convertible and Benz 900 class and other state-of-the-art cars.

She was always seen around Banjo every day. That very week Banjo had taken over Okanla. Tinu’s other children, the four daughters, wondered why their mother’s last born had to live with a strange man after their father’s supposed death.

All this while Kassim was still receiving treatment at the emergency centre of the hospital unknown to Tinu who thought the hired killers had buried Kassim secretly that very night he was attacked.

Exactly three months later Kassim had really recovered from the attack but he still had bandages on his head. It was the greatest shock to Tinu when her supposedly dead husband appeared with the police that eventful day! She was so surprised and dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

Based on the comments made by Taju and Tawa during interrogation, crack police detectives of the Intelligence unit were able to know the people behind the attempted murder of Kassim, the rich businessman.

Banjo was arrested and he confessed that he connived with Tinu, Kassim’s wife to carry out the attempted murder. Kassim later realized that Okanlawon was not his biological son through the confession of Tinu and Banjo during the rigorous interrogation session.

Banjo was immediately sacked from the Nigerian Armed Forces and he was arraigned in court together with Tinu the following week. They were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal High Court for attempted murder. Kassim was shocked to know that a woman he loved so tenderly and deeply could betray him and even plan to kill him.

However, being the kind-hearted man he was, Kassim took over the responsibility and care of Okanla despite the fact that he knew he wasn’t his biological child.

Kassim later got married to another woman by name Bimbo who was much more better in character compared to his former wife. She was a loving and caring woman who had the fear of God in her heart. Kassim also showed his gratitude to Taju and Tawa by investing in their lives and turning them into millionaires. They were so happy. Love should not be toyed with, as it is sacred.

And life is like the morning dew; it comes and quickly vanishes. Utmost care should be taken in handling it. For ‘whatsoever a man sows shall he reap’ even much more than he ever bargained for.

This reminds one of a quotation from the bible: “Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, press down, shaken together, and running over as men shall give unto your bosom.” Concluded.