Human interaction can't do away with experiencing some friction sometimes. When such happens, the best is for the parties involved to find a possible way of resolving the differences and mending any crack on the wall. This is not easily achievable in some cases. When an amicable resolution becomes unachievable, the next best option is to litigate. The court would listen to both parties and resolve the issue with the guidance of the laws of the land.
Some people go to court when their rights are infringed upon. It is human nature for powerful people to oppress those below them. The go-to institution to give voice to the voiceless is the judiciary. This was exactly the case many years ago when I was locked up in a police cell for about 24 hours.
I have written about this ugly experience before. However, since today's prompt is about writing about anything that someone ever did to me that made me consider suing them, I will mention the part that pushed me to consider suing the man who locked me up.
It was a case of domestic violence against my mum by our landlord. I was pained to my bone marrow about the whole thing. I fought the landlord with all my strength. I traveled to my hometown for Christmas and New Year shortly after the incident.
Upon my return in January, I think it was on the 8th of January when the landlord brought a team of policemen to arrest me. He ordered them to lock me up without bail nor charge me to court.
My offense was read to me by the police. It was stated by my landlord that I came to his apartment that morning at about 7 am with a cutlass to attack his wife and children. I immediately punctured the lies but the policemen weren't ready to do a diligent investigation to know the facts. I let them know that I returned from my hometown that same morning. I alighted from a few minutes past 9 that morning. I told the police that there was no way that I would have gone to attack anyone by 7 am, the period that my car hadn't taken off from my hometown for the one-hour journey.
The police were not ready to listen to me. A Cutlass that was brought to the station by the landlord was admitted as an exhibit.
I nearly cried out my eyeballs.
I never set my eyes on the cutlass before that time. It was a false accusation. I told the policemen to go to my neighborhood and confirm when I arrived from my journey. I told them that they could also go to the park where my vehicle took off to find out about my time of departure. I was teaching them their job. Unfortunately, they refused to launch any serious investigation.
They were walking on the instructions of the landlord. He vowed to jail me at all costs.
My father consulted a friend of his who was a senior police officer and he was advised to demand that I be charged in court. He came to the station and discussed it with me. I bought into the advice wholeheartedly.
We told the police to charge me in court. At that stage, they came up with a demand that my father should pay 6000 naira to bail me. I told my father that I preferred being taken to court. They knew the implications and they were not ready for it. At the end of the back-and-forth dragging of the case, I was released from detention without paying any dime.
I was very angry. I felt cheated. I insisted on suing the policemen and the landlord.
Family friends and landlord relatives pleaded with my father to shelve the idea of litigation. My father begged me to forgive and forget on behalf of the good people that have come to plead with him. I agreed with my father and we allowed the issue to slide.
That was the first and only time that I ever considered suing someone in court. Thank you for reading.
