Lotanna

Episode Four

In life, I have always tried to believe the part of the bible that says “all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose” so I handle everything that comes my way with this mindset.
  However, today’s case was different. Was this not the same because I could not understand Senior Raymond (Ray) or Dalu; whichever he calls himself, that pretended like he did not even know what panel I was facing? Did he not know that he was on that Panel because the case happened on Tuesday; today is Friday. Meaning that the panel members met both on Thursday and just now? Was that why he was able to meet me leaving Mr. Johns office after night prep? My lord, this was just a really confusing time for me.
      “Lotanna Chimuanya Chibuike, I am sure you know why you are here?” Mrs. Ajunwa said crossing her legs.
“No ma, I do not know” I replied.
“How can you not know?!”  Mr. Nabase shouted back. “Are you not here because you stole from Mary Sanusi? Or am I lying? He said more calmly.
“Mr. Nabase, it is best for us to move to the panel room to address this issue properly the principal said standing up.
  This was my first time of entering the principal’s office so I never knew that there was a door beside his bookshelf that led to the panel room. Truly, the room looked like a mini court.
   The end of the room had a small cage; or should I say cell, to detain offenders tried and proven guilty. Amidst all this, I could not stop starring at senior Raymond and wondering how he became a part of my accusers.
   The Principal, the vice Principal Academics, The vice Principal Administrative, Mrs. Ajunwa, Mr. Nabase, Senior Raymond, The head boy and three other teachers I had never seen before but recognized as teachers because of their identity cards, filed into the room and I followed suit with Mrs. Tamuno behind me.
    The room had a high platform with 3 seats. The Principal sat in the middle, the vice Principal Academics on the right, and the vice Principal Administrative on the left.
  There was a small section of seven seats where other members of the panel sat which was directly facing the small box I was made to stand in. The rest of room was blank, except for the fact that it had three long benches and then I could sight the mini cell from where Mrs. Tamuno led me to stand. After directing me to the witness box as I call it, she proceeded to sit on one of the long benches so she could watch the trial. 
I just hoped in my heart that she would not break into one of her horrible songs again because I might certainly go deaf this time.
  There was gavel. Wow! These people were very serious about this trial issue. I had never heard of any secondary school with this type of facilities. I even felt tricked on behalf of my parents because a courtroom was not part of the facilities listed on the flier shared to us. Well, that was not the issue. The matter on ground was that my trial was starting.
  “Tell us your name and why you think you are here"  the Principal said.
I was hesitant to reply because the PTA chairman had just called my full names so why did I still need to do a formal introduction of myself. Anyway, I replied all the same.
“My name is Lotanna Chimuanya Chibuike. I think I am here because I helped a friend whose locker keys got missing to burgle her lockers so she could have access to her provisions in the locker, and change the locks”.
“You think?” he said looking at me with his glasses resting on his nostrils.
“No sir, I am sure” I replied.
  “Lotanna” Mrs. Ajunwa said standing up from her seat like a prosecutor ready to bombard the defendant with questions, “On Tuesday the 17th of November, the CCTV cameras installed in the hostel had a tape of you burgling a student’s locker true or false?”
“True” I replied.
“On that same day” she continued, “you took away a packet of Kellogg’s Cornflakes and a sachet of 400grams Peak milk, true or false?”
“True” I replied.
“That will be all Sir” she said to the principal and returned to her seat.
  Trust me, I have watched numerous law and crime movies but I never saw myself acting in one of them. But here I was, at the center of a new one; unreleased, still in the making. In those movies, people always had the rights to attorneys, or attorneys were assigned to them by the honorable court.
“Lotanna stop dreaming” I said to myself. This is a trial, not an honorable court.
“Lotanna’s defendant may now come up to speak” the Vice Principal Administrative said relaxing her hands on the table.
What! What did I just hear?! This trial was even better than I thought. So I had an attorney all along I smiled. Who could it be anyway because the person had not even met me to discuss my case?
  Just them, I saw Senior Raymond stepping out of where the other panel members were seated. He came out taking the same stance as Mrs. Ajunwa and began to speak.
“Good Afternoon Members of the FCK Disciplinary Panel. My name is Raymond Chidalu Okike. I am the assistant chapel prefect of the school, and I appreciate the opportunity given to me to represent a student before this honorable panel. I will like to ask some crucial question to the student in question and Mr. Nabase who received the CCTV footage and the complaint from the student allegedly stolen from”.
Oh! My heart was filled with great joy. In fact, I wished right here that our English teacher will give us the assignment of writing an essay on “A day I can never forget” because today, was really a day to remember.
“You may go ahead” the principal said.
‘Lotanna” he said clearing his throat, a CCTV footage of you burgling a locker in dormitory three of the pink house female hostel was found by the security operatives and taken to Mr. Nabase. I want to ask you a question. So answer me truthfully and to the best of your knowledge. What exactly happened that day?
My heart sunk. All eyes were on me and I knew I had to start my story from the beginning.
     “On Monday night, I came back from night prep and heard Mary an SS1A member telling Cheta and Gold; my friends that she could not find her locker keys and she had to get a few things from her locker. Cheta quickly told her that it would be best to burgle the locker and change the locks because it would be hard to recover her keys, based on where she lost them. Gold also added that she knew someone who could help her break the locks neatly so she could manage it till she installed new ones.
  Just then, I walked in. Mary immediately met me to narrate her story so I agreed to help her. Just before she left, I asked her for a commission jokingly, telling her that nothing went for anything and she was so quick to say “Okay then you can take a packet of cornflakes and a sachet of milk out of the locker when you burgle it”. I was happy when she said this because I did not imagine that she would take me seriously.
   So the next day, we agreed that in order not to drag attention to ourselves, it was best to leave the hostel a bit later than 7:00pm which is prep time, to do the work. She was supposed to wait for me outside our dormitory, but I was surprised that after I had done the breaking, taken the items she gave me for commission, kept them in my own locker and taken my books to meet her outside so we could proceed for prep, she was no longer there. I went to her class in anger immediately I got to the school block and asked her why she left me behind. She said she had to return a note she borrowed so I waved it away.
  I was so surprised when Mr. John and Mr. Nabase came to my class to call me out and they began to question me strangely. I was surprised at how they knew all that transpired in the hostel but what gave me greater shock was how they came to the conclusion of the fact that I stole from Mary.
   Mr. John later called me yesterday night for “A Questioning Session” according to him, and told me that I would be meeting with the disciplinary panel today. That is all that happened” I said bending down my head and adjusting the pleats of my skirt.
“Thank you Lotanna” Senior Raymond said turning to the other panel members.
“Mr. Nabase” he said pacing around with his hands akimbo, ‘Who brought this theft issue to your attention because you are neither the matron nor the house mistress or even the house master of that house.”
“Well, two students; Frances and Leylani, came to my office to report that they saw a girl stealing from a locker they recognized as Mary Sanusi’s locker. And that they saw her take the things and lock up in her own locker”.
Wow! At this point I was beyond shocked. So senior Frances was part of this master plan. Senior Leylani too. This world was indeed a terrible place.
“Ok sir, thank you” senior Raymond replied.
“Members of the disciplinary panel, I want to start by saying that Lotanna Chibuike is not guilty of the theft charges against her. I will give my reasons for saying so.” He turned around and began to speak.
“Reason number one. How did the mentioned students know the locker was for Mary Sanusi? They are Ss3 students who obviously are not in the same room with the young ladies in question so how did they know?. Does this whole thing not sound like a plan to implicate a student with excellent academic records?
Reasons number two. Why has Mary Sanusi refused to say anything about this whole issue since it began on Tuesday night? Why was she not shocked when she was told that her locker was burgled because the normal reaction of every student whose property has been tampered with is a shout, an exclamation, and for girls like Mary, tears. Why did she look so indifferent when Mr. Nabase called her to break the news?
Reasons number three. No thief and I repeat no thief keeps stolen goods at a place of easy access. If Lotanna stole those items, she would not have kept it with pride in her locker, knowing full well that Mary’s initials MDS were on the packet of cornflakes in red marker. No thief is that foolish.
Reasons number four. How did Frances and Leylani come up with the idea of checking the security footage immediately? And why was their initial statement I read at Mr. Nabase’s office, different from the statement given to Mrs. Ajunwa after they had all watched the footage.
   Sir, I could go on and on with the many glaring reasons why Lotanna is not the thief. As a matter of fact, there was no theft. This just seems to me as a matter girlish jealousy and foolishness, and a case of defama….”
“Thank you Raymond, you may now go back to your seat” the Vice principal Administrative cut in and said.
  “Sir” she said turning to the vice principal academics, “what do you have to say about Lotanna’s statement, and all that Raymond had to say?”
Mhmm mhmmm he cleared his throat. “Well, the young man put up a really good argument. He asked a lot of questions and the answers finally point to his conclusion of the matter” he said rubbing his head. “ there is no doubt that after all we have heard from both Lotanna and Raymond today, it simply declares the accused student innocent and puts the schemers in trouble with the school authorities” he said writing down something on a piece of paper.
“Mrs. Tamuno” he called out
“Yes sir’ she relied trying to race to the podium where they were seated, “please take this sheet of paper and pass to all the members of the panel. They know what to do. When they are done, give it to the principal so he can give the last say on this issue; school will soon be over”.
I had not even realized that the time was almost two thirty. I had been here since 12:00pm; well give or take 1:00pm when the trial actually began. So far so good I was beyond thankful to God that everything was working in my favor.
“Here it is sir” Mrs. Tamuno said dropping the paper in front of the principal who adjusted his glasses to examine what was in front of him properly.
“Lotanna, you must be a really good girl because every member of the panel has voted you innocent” he said slowly.
“You are now free to go and sin no more; if you were sinning” he said laughingly.
“I am sure it is time for lunch. Go and have your lunch he said standing up.
He hit the gavel and said “All rise” and every member of the panel got up and recited a few lines I found funny but deep.
“Judge not, so that you will not be judged
But if we do not judge, the wrong doers will go free
And the just will be punished.
For the authority of man is nothing without the power of God.
A panel to correct and redirect is what we are,
A group of disciplinarians is what we represent”.

After they said this, they filed out to leave one after the other chatting about what just happened and how much of a good Lawyer senior Raymond would make in the future. I really wanted to see the look on Mrs. Tamuno’s face and hear her new song because I was sure the result of the trial will give her inspiration; but sadly, she left immediately after the principal and I didn’t get to see her when I went into the office.
“Lotanna!” I heard a voice call out. It was a familiar voice but I was not seeing the face until someone tapped me from behind.
“Lotanna, hope the trial went well?” senior Ray asked smiling.
   It was just a reflex action and I did not know when I hugged him and said “Thank you so much, God bless you”.
The next thing I heard was “God will always save his children”.
And then I woke up.
  I had fainted at the panel the moment Mrs. Ajunwa began to question me and I was in the clinic receiving medical attention.