Chapter 1

It all starts and ends with the single most daring question; guilty or not guilty. How do you plead.

The answer to that question is the sole determinant of the course a court litigation would follow.

Nena Daniels was no stranger to the lots of convicted felons who always responded negatory to that question. She never really blamed them for that anyways. As a matter of fact, she actually always hoped for such responses, as will every other topshot lawyer like her in the city who are ever ready to jump on the chance to turn any law case to a pillow case. Nena Daniels was top of the league in this category of lawyers. She was a very renowned legal practitioner ; A public prosecutor who had made it a mandate for herself to put as much criminals as she could behind bars.

A legal luminary of her time, as she was called by most young girls who aspired to pursue a profession in the judiciary as did her . She was indeed the perfect role model .

She had a face that depicted brilliance , a posture that illustrated confidence, a dress style that exhibited elegance at it's peak and finally but not surprisingly, a parlance that denoted pride from her actions and reputation, and She had brought in all to the courthouse today. 

She checked her watch as they patiently waited for the court bailiff to call out the house to arise as he announced the introduction of the Judges presence in the room. 

"All rise" he screamed as the magistrate Judge walked up to the Bench. She rose to her feet as everyone else and sat back down afterwards as instructed by the Judge. The noises that rose from the rising and siting of all members of the courtroom soon dispersed into thin air within a minute.

The judge was a pale old looking man whose facial expressions illustrated fatigue and no interest is allowing the litigation stretched any further beyond required. He had been introduced by name as His lordship Barrister Martins Nebedum.

"Good morning ladies and Gentlemen" he began " calling the case of magistrate court , docket number 2345. The family of Lucile Dumebi Johnson versus Mr Justice Madonna. " He paused for a minute to adjust his glasses and then continued " I do sincerely hope we can have a very swift proceeding today as time is already understood to be of the essence. As Always" now looking at his watch, he declared " The proceedings may now begin at 12:00 CAT ". he banged his gavel on the wooden sound block situated on the right hand side of his bench . This indicated that the litigation had officially begun.

"Will the prosecuting attorney please state her name for the record" he requested , now fixing his head to the paperwork's on top of his bench.

Nena looked right to the defendants table and threw a quick smirk at the lawyer on the grey suit sitted with his client. From all she could tell from his Countenance, he was a tad bit nervous." I wonder why that is " she sarcastically thought to herself and then quickly returned her attention to the Judge as she stood up to respond " Barrister Nena Williams, ready for the plantiff, your honour"

"Barrister Williams Benson, ready for the defense , your honour" her counterpart rose up and announced as well.

The judge continued " will the clerk please swear in the Jury?"

The clerk stood and faced the members of the jury as he began the swearing rights " will the jury please stand and raise your right hand?" . The twelve members of the jury all rose to their feet and did as he said. He then continued " Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and instructions of the court. So help you God? " They all echoed "i do " and with that , the clerk returned to his seat as did they.

"May the persecution now present their opening statement" the Judge requested.

Nena stood to begin her statement " your honour and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the defendant has been charged with first degree rape of my client Miss Lucile Dumebi Johnson."

She spared a second catch her breath then continued " your honour , the evidence brought to the court with me today will show that my client Miss Lucile Johnson was compromised into sexual intercourse out of forcible compulsion issued by the defendant Mr Bayo Justice Madonna on the midday of February 8th 2022. In light of his sexual misconduct tendered to my client, the prosecution demands that the defendant faces the full jail sentence as well as all other additional punishments allocated to the conviction of first degree rape charges, as stated in section 259 of the penal code act of the Nigerian constitution". 

Nena sat down afterwards adjusting her suit as a show of confidence.

Councilman Williams Benson had been a renowned lawyer in the city as well . Although his reputation hadn't managed to precede that of Nena Daniels, he has proven himself to be a worthy rival in the past. He stood up to give his own opening statement. 

"Your honour" williams began " under the law, my client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. You'll come to know the truth, that my client Mr Bayo Justice Madonna had not engaged in any inappropriate sexual activity with the plaintiff here. So far , the persecution here has not been able to present a single implicating evidence against my client and hence, I find it highly prejudicial as well as constitutionally offensive that my client would be charged with such a defaming crime as rape, let alone that of the first degree. I believe this to be nothing but a ridiculous claim to vilify my client's character and therefore , you'll find that my client is not guilty in today's proceedings".

The Judge adjusted his glasses now, whipped the last strands of the grey coloured hair that lay on his bald head backwards , letting his palms feel his scalp , took a deep breath and finally gave out an exhirilating sigh. He then asked " Does the prosecution wish to call any witness?"

"Yes your honour" Nena replied " the prosecution wishes to call Mrs Maria koker to the stand.

The crowd behind began chattering as they witness, a timid looking woman walked in, up to the stand. This woman was anonymous to most of them but she was no stranger to the occupants of the first pew behind the prosecutors table . Lucile and the rest of the Johnsons stared at her as well . They knew this lady all too well. They had employed her to be their housekeeper for the past five years. All too diligent in her duties, they had even begun to love her enough to consider her a member of their family. It was only fair Maria returned the favour by assisting the family with this case and help put the purported culprit of this heinous crime behind bars.

There. She would finally feel even for all the times she had felt indebted to repay this loving family for how well they treated her.

She rose to the stand and tried to sit but the judge quickly gave her a wink and shook his head, signifying that she wasn't supposed to sit and make herself too comfortable just yet. She stood again and immediately, the bailiff stood in front of her to swear her in. 

" Raise your right hand " he requested. Maria did as she was ordered then he continued, raising a Bible before Maria's frontal view, slightly high above his head so the whole courtroom could see " Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth , and nothing but the truth?"

"I do" she responded quickly, knowing this procedure all too well from all she had seen Nollywood movies. Her response ended the drill and she was allowed to sit back in .

The Judge protruded his palms to the centre of the court as he stared directly at the prosecutor table implying that the floor was now theirs to present a case.

Nena stood up again, all too ready to do what she came here for. What she too well known for; To win.

 The smiles she wore on her face indicated that she had her game on. She drastically stepped forward to the stand , standing high and tall on her heels and made sure they hit firmly on the tiled floor through her every step, enough to announce her entrance conspicuously to the whole room. Her elegant footsteps exuded enough confidence for the whole audience to acknowledge. The stripes of her black suit glittered underneath the light rays emitted from the florescent light above the center of the room. The silence that now fill the air as she made a stop at the stand assured her that she has gained everyone's attention.

"Please state your name for the record", Nena began her cross examination " where are you from?"

"My name is Maria Adewunmi Joker, I'm from the west coast, Ibadan".

"Okay good" she looked at the reporters table to be sure he was documenting it all on his typewriter.

"Are you acquainted with my client here, Miss Lucile Johnson?".

"Yes I am" Maria replied now picking her nose with the use of a handkerchief she had been wielding tightly in her palms.

" How long have you known Miss Lucile for?" Nena continued

"For five years now"

"Five years !? That's quite a long time". Nena paused for a second "and what would you call the terms of your relationship with her? ".

"Transactional , I am their housekeeper"

"Hmmm. Is that so. How would you describe Miss Lucile's behavior over these said times you've been with her."

"Oh she is such a lovely lady, very pleasant and full of joy. I wonder why anyone would want to hurt her like this."

"I understand Maria" Nena interjected "but please can you stick to direct responses to the questions i ask here. Thank you."

Nena flipped the few A4 sheets In her hands , for a minute, then raised her eyes back to Maria. "What I actually meant by the question; how you would describe Miss Lucile's behavior was if she had ever shown any sign of mental or psychological instability over the period of your acquaintance with her."

"No ma'am." Maria responded " Non that I know off."

"Okay , fair enough " Nena once again buried her face in the sheets of papers in her hands as she continued to address the court " I have with me here , a deposition where Maria gave a testimony of what she saw and remembered on the day of the Miss Lucile's rape. " She now turned again to Maria " Maria can you share with the court today as you stated in your testimony, what you remembered of that day."

Maria took a deep breath , then began , " I was in the kitchen making lunch for madam Lucile."

"For the record Maria" Nena interjected " can you tell the court what date that day was exactly"

" It was on the Eight of February 2022, barely a month ago. Madamme Stella, Lucile's mother had stepped out with her husband for a meeting. Then I heard the bell ring not too long after.

" Who answered the door then" Nena asked 

" It was Madame Lucile" Maria answered.

"And were you able to make the face of the visitor? Identify who it was?."

"Yes , I was. It was B.J who was at the door. His clothes were drenched, it was Raining that day"

"Wait" Nena cut in again " who is B.J? Can you tell the court?"

"B.J is whom you call Mr Bayo Madonna. It is an alias he goes by. I believe It to be an acronym for his full name Bayo Justice Madonna but I'm not so sure of that" Maria stopped now to take a sneeze into her handkerchief.

"And how come you are so familiar with this visitor?" Nena asked

"His family has been friends with the Johnson's for as long as I've been present in their household. So B.J comes to visit from time to time , although his visits had become quite more frequent in that particular week."

"So where did they go after he was ushered in?"

"I'm not sure, I went back to the kitchen to continue my cooking."

"How long did your cooking take?"

"Over an hour , I guess. I was about done when I heard a shout from Madame Lucile's room."

"What did you do then."

"I rushed up to see what was the cause of the scream . As I approached the room I heard a voice weeping . I kept on shouting "Madame Lucile, are you alright" before I approached the door. I wanted to announce my presence before I entered her room "

" What did you see exactly? " Nena asked

" Madame Lucile" Maria replied, now looking at Lucile's direction, "Madamme Lucile was sitting naked on her bed with her face in her palms "

"And where was B.J?"

"He was there too, but as he saw me, he picked his shirt and ran towards me. I tried to stop him but he pushed me down at the door. "

"He ran out?" 

Maria looked down at Nena and nodded in affirmation.

"So he ran out leaving you and Lucile in the room, how was Lucile doing then?"

" She was weeping, shivering, mumbering inaudible words as she held her knees together by her arms. I rushed to her immediately to cover her up she was really shaking furiously then. "

Nena Nodded and then she began to build her case " so he came into the house, unaware that you were anywhere around since he did not see you, and at that time figured he could misuse the privilege of his assumed privacy to hurt miss Lucile in her own home and just as he was about even doing more harm..." she was now turning to the Jury as she continued " Maria here stepped in to his surprise, he panicked and ran , pushing her to the floor. He is sure lucky Maria herself did not press any charges of her own. Mr Bayo here, or B.J as he likes to be called had committed a lot of wrongs on that crime scene alone. He has a long record of his several prior social misconducts as well as illegal convictions he had been indicated for in the past . Case in point , docket 2571 of this magistrate court. In fact, we could write a whole book on all the wrongs he has committed to his name. He is an infamous delinquent and it comes as no surprise that he would engage in something like this." She paused for a minute, took a deep breath and exhaled , turning to the Judge " No further questions your honour" she said and the returned to her seat.

" Does the defense wish to cross examine." The judge asked 

Barrister Williams stood up , adjusting his tie " yes your honour, if I may." he replied

"All right Mr Williams" the judge started " the floor is yours. You have twenty minutes "

" Thank you , your honour" .