Hi, I’m Aisha Danladi, the girl whose face is on that poster. I say to the police officers while pointing at the missing person poster with my face on it. We’ve been searching for you for four days. The woman among them says. Come with me, I’ll get you some food while my colleagues contact your parents and you tell me what happened to you.I follow her to the lounge where I eat something and then to an interrogation room. Tell me everything you can remember. She says with a motherly, I take a deep breath and start.

On Monday last week, I was on my way to school with my driver Ade when we got pulled over by some men in police uniforms. They claimed that our papers were incomplete and said we were going to follow them to the station at Iganmu. We didn’t object and two of them got in the car with us. They took us down a lonely road and ordered Ade to stop. I looked around for the police station but all I saw was a long stretch of trees. Two other men came out from nowhere and dragged me and Ade out of the car. They shot Ade and hit my head with the butt of the gun. I blacked out and woke up in a room. It was dark so I guessed it was night. A young man came in and put a light bulb on, he was one of the police officers. He put a tray with food and water on the floor and walked out. I sat up slowly and looked into the tray. He didn’t bring any painkillers -well I wasn’t expecting him to since he didn’t know I needed them. The blow on my head had left me with a headache. I took a little water and began to eat; I knew they couldn’t poison me, I was gonna make them rich and I needed to be strong in order to escape so going on a hunger strike was not on my to do list.

After eating I started planning my escape, I wasn’t about to let some criminals touch my father’s money. First I needed information on my location and the amount of people involved in this. I knew they were four when I was taken but they could be more. The door was opened and four men came in. They told me they weren’t going to hurt me if my father gave them what they wanted and I asked for some painkillers for my headache. They left and the one who brought me my food came back with the painkillers. We talked for a while and by the time he left, I had all the information I needed. They were just four, they were brothers and were in Lagos. Their family needed money so they thought of what every normal person would think of “kidnap a millionaire’s only child“. His older brother was a police officer and owned a gun -that made him my target. Getting away would be easier if I had a gun. I asked for the time and he said it was 2am. I told him I needed to sleep and he left. He was useful to my cause but he talked too much. I said a little prayer and fell asleep.

When I woke up, my new friend Wole brought me a towel, a toothbrush, and a sponge and showed me the bathroom. I rushed through my bathroom duties and went back to my room. There was a dress on the bed and I put it on. I went in search of the guys and found them in the kitchen having breakfast. I stood at the door and examined my kidnappers. They were all lanky -well the police officer had a little muscle on him. And they were young. The police officer was the first to notice me. He looked at me with lustful eyes and I knew I had a chance to take him down if I could just get him alone. I walked in and asked for breakfast. Wole placed a plate of pancakes and a cup of milk in front of me (if this is how kidnappers treat their victims, why do people complain about being kidnapped? It felt more like a vacation). I ate quickly and asked to be excused. I went back to my room and saw my bag on the floor beside the bed. I got excited for a moment. I grabbed it and searched for my phone in vain, they had taken it out already. I took a novel from my bag and started reading it and a while later, Wole brought me lunch.

His brothers had gone to work and we were alone. I considered escaping at that time but I didn’t want Wole to get into trouble and I had a score to settle with “Mr. Police officer” -I had a feeling he was behind my kidnap. I and Wole chatted about random things for a while and watched TV when we ran out of things to talk about. We made dinner together and after eating I went back to my room. Mr. Police officer walked into my room a while later and locked the door -I was ready to give him what was coming to him though I didn’t want it to be so soon. He walked over to me and pulled out his gun. He told me to take off my clothes and lie down. I did as he said and I kicked him in his balls. While he was recovering from the pain, I hit him on his head twice with an iron pipe I took from the bathroom. He blacked out and I put on my clothes and took his gun. I opened the door quietly although I didn’t have to since the TV was on and very loud. I walked to the door quietly and thankfully the key was in the lock. I went out and locked them in.

The gate was left open and I ran out as quickly as I could. I ran till I was sure I was a safe distance away from the house and I slowed down to a walk. I kept walking till my legs couldn’t carry me anymore. I saw an open stall and I slept in it. I woke up a few hours later and continued walking till I reached a busy junction. I asked a lady for directions to the nearest police station and that’s how I ended up here.

She asks for the gun and I tell her I left it at the house. She says my parents are waiting for me and I can go and meet them and that they’d call me if they needed more information. We walk out together and I come face to face with Mr. Police officer. I stare at him for a while and I consider not reporting him because of Wale. His brothers were sick but he was just a young innocent boy who owed them his life. He gives me a look that says “don’t you dare say anything” and I point at him and with a shaky voice (for effects) say “that’s him, that’s the man who shot Ade” The detective asks me if I’m sure and I say yes. He is arrested immediately and I go to my parents. I break into a run when I see them and they hug me so tight I can’t breathe. They release me and ask how I am and I tell them I’m fine. I ask about Ade and they tell me he’s in the hospital. He was rushed to the hospital by a good Samaritan and was responding to treatment. We leave the station and head home. This has to be the best day of my life.