A typical lagos day, the Lagos breeze so thick with frustration, the noise so silent in awe of the chaos, civilians in their multitudes with a face screaming “NO GREE FOR ANYBODY”. The weather, breezy with hot air, moist yet dry. It's like the Chthonic gods have let the servants run an experiment on Lagos state. It was nothing but the order of things in such a chaotic city. Mama Bisi with her roasted plantain by the road, starting the day with great hope and joy, not knowing what lies ahead but ready to take on any demon brave enough to walk the streets of Lagos. Akpan, hungover from his frustration of having a first class in Software engineering but doing POS to make ends meet. From my left to my right I see the multitude, it was like a parody of the five thousand at the sermon on the mount. Lagos, a city filled with dreams and opportunities. A city accommodating the noble and the hooligans. A beautiful chaos to behold. In such chaos, I am my own chaos standing next to the lifeless body of a Nigerian sergeant. I Saw him stripped of every power he thought he had in that black uniform as he laid lifeless on the burning asphalt that chaotic Monday Morning. I had killed a police officer.

I took the life of Sergeant Bassey when his wife hoped to see him at the end of his shift. The same hope my dying wife had while cancer was drawing life out of her and she was drawing her last breath out of life.

I felt a tear drop run down my chin. It was not the feeling of guilt but the feeling of satisfaction yet craving more. Have you ever been so tasty for so long that one drop of water feels like a crime if you don't finish the entire bottle? It was the same feeling. I hated that the pain of an entire night was wasted with one bullet in Sergeant Bassey’s abdomen. I didn't know how many bullets he had loaded in his gun but I was determined to finish the enterprise. In that moment, Lagos was quiet and dark, all I could hear was the sound of that machine. I don't even know the name of that machine but I heard the moment it pitched and my wife was dead. All I could imagine was what it would have felt like if only I was next to her but all I actually saw was Bassey standing in the way of catching my wife's last breath.

I am a 68 year old Danfo driver. The road, and the wheels of my deformed bus have catered for my family since the early 2000’s when I lost my Job at the state ministry of Justice. The story of Job in the bible was like version one and my story was the updated version. I had an experienced understanding of Job 14:1. I was just about To be promoted to a life changing level at the Ministry and just a day to my promotion, I saw life turn its back on me. I fell, I saw myself falling and didn't fight it. I had hit rock bottom. All I had left was my Law degree. I saw the “hons” just after Llb and at that moment, nothing honourable could be shown about that degree. With that degree in my brown leathered suitcase that has suffered the wilderness of my career in Civil service Was my beautiful wife. She was the only source of my Joy. The only reason I wanted to wake up the next day. Sadly, my wife had been diagnosed with skin cancer and it had just hit stage four. I saw all I had Vanish before my eyes and I could not stomach the pain of having to see my wife die. She was a good woman and even though I was not religious, I knew she'd be in heaven with her maker. This was all I held on to till the date the doctors had concluded she would die. Everyday was a living horror watching seconds turn to minutes and minutes to hours which ushers in days to “ your wife has two months to live”. That statement broke me.

On the eve of my wife's death, I had a long drive from Ibadan to Lagos in my Danfo to meet the last breath of my wife. I got to Ajah express Way that cold Sunday night hoping to spend the last night with my wife just before hell will break loose on me. Trying to navigate the dark and cold night, I am stopped by Sergeant Bassey. He was determined to use me to pass the night. Take a quick guess on how much I begged Sergeant Bassey. I laid on the cold ground, explaining the condition of my bus and why I have to manage it. He didn't seem impressed. I told him about my wife at the hospital and he said “My condolence, we will all die one day”. I could see hell break loose already. I cried, no word could explain the amount of pain I felt. Sergeant Bassey held me there all through the night because I couldn't provide the papers for my bus. I was torn from dealing with the pain of losing my wife and losing my own life on that wicked and cold night.

It's the dawn of a new day and Sergeant Bassey was still adamant on me not living. I knew the life of man was of few days and filled with trouble. In my 68 years of few days, I had finally found such wickedness. It pained me so much that it was a young man who hid the frustration he had from his relationship with life in the government and the short lived power of his pistol and black Beret. In the anguish of waiting, I get a call from the hospital notifying me of my wife's death. My entire world crashed again. Finally, I had lost it all. In so much despair, pain and agony, I grabbed the pistol out of Sergeant Bassey and Shot him. In my head it was just an intrusive thought but I had shot and killed a police officer.

I was still in my trance of killing a police officer while being completely oblivious to the crowd I have gathered from actually killing a police officer. The iya selling akara by the wayside just by the exit of the Ajah expressway screaming and muttering words that I'm sure no one could understand. Everyone saw a police officer murdered in cold blood by a crazy old danfo driver but to me, I was a crazy old danfo driver at peace with my wife reuniting with her maker and at peace with sending Sergeant Bassey to the devil. My wife had died without her husband by her side because of the wickedness of a criminal clothed in legal garments. Sergeant Bassey, shot and killed with his very hollow pistol. My wife died, Bassey died, I knew it was not long before the court sentenced me to death.

Lights out and the next I can remember, I had my day in court.

My friend from the ministry of Justice thought I will have a good insanity and provocation defence. His very intelligently stupid idea. it made no sense to me but there was not much I could do except what I knew to do. I had my day in court. I was represented by a very beautiful and goal driven lawyer fresh out of law school and trying to make her way through the Bar by working at my friend's Law firm. She had just told me about my insanity and provocation defence and if it pleases the courts, I will be sent to a rehabilitation centre instead of being sentenced to death. I smiled at her knowing being sentenced to death will be a blessing. Christmas will come early.

The Honourable Judge Walked into the courtroom. He was the Presiding Judge of the Lagos state headline news–”Insane Danfo driver shoots and murders a police officer in cold blood”. It was all over every blog, newspaper and radio station. I could hear the rampage of journalists just outside the courtroom trying to get and make headline news. As soon as the Judge walked into the court, I could feel a wave sending a strong message to everyone's soul to be quiet. There Was silence in the entire courtroom. The silence in the courtroom spoke in a language only I could understand. standing right in front Of me was the Judge who will Sentence me to death and end my mystery on Earth. I was not satisfied with Sergeant Bassey and I was more than sure he was in hell. I needed to meet with him. I needed to look him in the eyes and shoot him again. That felt like destiny. I didn't see the Judge as someone who will deliver my Fate but I saw him as a destiny helper.

Just after I gave my plea, the Judge gave a summary and Consent Judgement and sentenced me to death by firing squad. He who kills by gun will die by gun. I had a sinister smile on my old and wrinkled face. Thought of my wife in heaven brought peace to my heart one last time. As For me and Bassey, we'll have a little conversation with the devil.

Headline news– Desperado driver sentenced to death by firing squad for the murder Of Nigeria Officer, Sergeant Bassey.

I am Hassan Chinecherem Olarenwaju, the desperado driver.