I made I contact with the guy who threatened to teach me a lesson, immediately he started charging towards my direction, fear gripped me that I couldn't even run as my entire body shivered with fear.
It was as though I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I should never had left my house at all.
Just as he was a mile away sirens started sounding as soldiers came in pursuit of the boys, I was already on the floor hoping someone would save me unfortunately it was the other way round, the soldiers just picked me up and threw me in the van, along with some other boys, some of which I knew were cultist, for some I wasn't too sure, and just like me for the rest we were apprehended wrongly
I didn't even know what to say as I saw the soldiers beating up those who tried to speak out that they where not cultist I didn't know when I started to cry and funny enough, I didn't just know why I was crying. if it was for them or my self or if it was for the fact that the guy who was charging towards me escaped and me who was innocent was suffering the curelty of this soldiers.
To the baracks we came, we were all chained hands and feet, and then paraded as criminals, one of the soldiers looked at me and ask his colleague if he was sure I was one of them stating I didn't look like one who could possibly have been one of them, but the colleague insisted that I was and I was only pretending to give a pitiful face claiming I would soon confess when he finishes with me.
It was there and then I knew what it meant to leave in Nigeria as a male, I was thoroughly beaten as they interrogated me asking for which of the cult I was in, and our base, I didn't know what to say as I was only pleading that I didn't know anything about it, not until one of them confess and he was asked to point out his gang members which he did, and he also pointed out some from the other cult group.
And that was how the soldiers focused on them and after 4 days of staying in that hell of a barack, we where finally released to go.
When I thought it was all over I never knew I was in more danger.
We where all allowed to leave the barracks with no money or way home, I could hardly move due to the horror beaten I suffered at the hands of the soldiers, it was the first time I was ever beaten like that.
The road from the baracks was really lonely and it happened to be in the evening, 12 of us who were released were only hopefully we could find a good Samaritan as we moved, just almost getting to the road side a bus coming from the road asked if we needed help, (any body seeing us would ask the same question) one of us explained everything to him, of which he offered to help us all as they were only two people in the bus. After reversing back to the road
The driver drove a little distance and stopped for four other guys who he seemed to know after which he drove another distance and then the four guys along with the other two making it 6 all brought out guns and threatened to shoot if anyone made a sound as we continued on the journey.
I literally urinated on myself as I knew it is finished this time around.......
To be continued........
Kelvin is a writer and also a proudly Deltan, telling his experiences with cultism (part 2)!!!