The Hell That Was Port Harcourt

Barely a fortnight after the unfortunate warning, I was transferred to Port Harcourt, where my first duty was that of Inspector in charge of the Township. I vowed to make go my youthful follies, taking into consideration the delicacy of my duties.

The duties of Inspector Township were tremendous. They involved control of liquor and gaming houses, goldsmiths, hawking, firearms and explosives, in fact, of all types of hubbub in the town. Mr. FineCountry, who was in charge of the township earlier, had had a take-no-nonsense reputation, but when he left, laxity reigned again.

Take the case of the state of licensed liquor houses. The regulation on the issuance of licences was that no liquor house should be within thirty yards of the other, nor was it to be less than a hundred yards from a place of worship. That was the Liquor ordinance. When I arrived in Port Harcourt, almost every other house in every street was a "Wine and Beer on or off licence." Liquor houses were on the door steps of churches. Hotels were not places of socialising an relaxation, but filthy brothels and deliquency rendevouzs. An Inspector who had opposed the state of affairs had been killed and dumped into a gutter. A senior civil servant from Enugu spending his weekend in one of these hotels had died - in his chamber. This was the brief total of my inheritance. As to the spacing of liquor houses, I could not do anything about that immediately without widespread commotion; but the proliferation of hotels suited my adventurous spirit. I was backed by my immediate superior, the officer of then Township detachment, Mr. Fente.

The first raid I organised was on the brothels and by dawn a telephone call had summoned me to the provincial headquarters and I was instructed by the second in command of the province to withdraw the charges.  This I refused to do.  Knowing the dangers in pushing his interest too far, he did not press his instructions. However, it was evident that from thence, I was being watched. The said officer invited me to his house and explained the intricacies in the Township duties and the personalities I would be hurting. I made him understand that any extra-normal arrangements could be made with my immediate superior with whom I had agreed to put the township on a new footing. He chuckled and hospitably offered me a finger of whisky soda and I departed with thanks. My blood ran cold. How on earth was I to go on with these duties being hemmed in within the very precincts of my own department? I had more faith in hard luck after the Lagos threats on my career and future than in humans.

I went on inspection of hotels again to make sure they did not operate beyond half past eleven as stipulated by law. Late night operations give effective hide-outs to all classes of undesirables; burglaries, robberies and even secret killings are attributable in townships and cities mostly to hide-outs offered by low class night clubs. A policeman in his beat cannot successfully charge a man with wandering even at two o’clock in the morning when most pubs operate till four.

Many hoteliers had tried to evade trouble by closing in time. However, one of them was still in full swing by midnight. The owner was out and I seized his licence leaving a message for him to report at the station for a chat. In the morning-, I did not see the hotelier but received a telephone call from a top man in town asking me to drop the charge because the hotelier was with him at·the time of the offence. The charge was dropped and not only that, I was given the humiliation of returning the licence myself without even advising the hotelier of at least his duty to the public all of us serve. These hoteliers were everywhere: in the town, in my department and even in the courts.

Already, threats had started to be issued from all quarters.

A clique of tribal aristocrats had even burst into the station to warn me that I was in Port Harcourt. But I was adamant to all those attempts at resistance and continued with my duties faithfully.-There was a time when an inspector was alleged to have committed suicide by drowning and because of the grave mutilations on the remains, all my colleagues, that is other inspectors, refused to take the corpse to Calabar.  I volunteered.

Later I was made the Divisional Inspector and, for the time being, all was well. But where the strength of evil is great, good gives way. The Provincial Commissioner, Mr. Menzies, and the Divisional Officer left.  The former proceeded on leave and the later on transfer. So, my doom came fast. During the Independence celebrations, letters of threat had been sent to some expatriates that their houses would be looted on the eve of Independence. The matter was referred to me and I went to hide-outs and made one hundred and forty-five arrests, detained them for twenty—four hours to cool off the Independence spasms, and released them.

Much to my credit as the Inspector Township, no incidents occurred. As time went on, I observed that the signs of my unwanted presence became clear. All the new superior officers that mattered had joined the clique of tribal aristocrats. Opportunity offered itself quite fast for my elimination since the combination of forces was now complete. My case was elaborately discussed in a secret society meeting and forewarning was given me by a close friend.

What else could I do other than trust in Lord Fate? In December, 1960, while driving my ·scooter on routine inspection, I encountered a former college mate whom I obliged with a lift to a remarkable hotel. I bought some drinks and while we were there, my friend observed that his fiancee was in the company of a lawyer and the go-between was his own pal. He asked me to excuse him, and without waiting for my reply, he developed a quarrel with the group. I walked up to him, persuaded him to forget it. I drove him to another hotel and, warned him to desist from public feuds A when he was with me. A few minutes later, the group arrived in the hotel which was in the outskirts of the town. I told my friend we should leave and as we went downstairs, he lagged behind and within the brief interlude, I they had clashed.

This was not known to me until we were on our way home. When I discovered that, I took him to his
uncles’ place and the group later arrived. The matter was settled between them, and my friend was to make good the girl’s torn skirt and her damaged watch. They drank heartily while the girl sobbed and queried his jealousy.  I left assuring them that it did not interest me to drag the matter to the station as I had observed that the affair from the beginning to end was that of petty jealousies and no irreparable harm had
been done. In fact, in later years I. had considered whether l did the right thing or not. I have always arrived at the same answer that, given a similar situation, I would act the way I had acted. Why not? How many cases of boy and girl friends did we encounter in the station daily? How many of husband and wife?  Even where both parties refused to settle the quarrel between themselves, we tried to keep peace between I them because, more often than not the lady who was most of the time the victim, came back to state she was no longer interested in proceeding with the case.

Satisfied that I had acted rightly without being the cause of the dissolution of ja wedlock I retired home. At eleven o’clock the following morning, the girl emerged in the Police Station with a sombre countenance, went into the office of the new Divisional Officer and laid her complaint. She explained with tears how her fiance and I had tried to murder her.

With raised eyebrows, he contacted the Provincial Police Commissioner, who ordered his second in command to take charge of the matter. This was what he wanted. He had got me. However, half way in the investigations, they found I had not wronged the girl at all and that I was directing the matter - towards mutual understanding between the prospective couple. My friend was charged before a magistrate who had a liquor incident with me. He was bound over to be of good behaviour for six months. An uncomplimentary remark was made against me in his judgment, where he stated I was held between two loyalties, one to the state and the other to my friend.

In my three years service in the Police Force, I treated not less than fifty cases of matrimonial quarrels. How many of them were of friends that I merited such a reward! I took my mind off it. But my detractors had already made a copy of the relevant sentences in the judgment and placed me on another orderly room charge, for neglect of duty, and failing to effect an arrest. The second in command was to preside.  I started packing my belongings because it was the end of me. The evidence adduced was brief and each gave evidence in my favour except the girl friend to my friend. The second in command thereupon threatened to charge some of them with perjury since they gave evidence on oath. He drove to town to collect the type of evidence at his pleasure and finally gave his judgment. I was guilty and severe reprimand was recommended. I appealed against the cruelsome sentence pointing out some of the inadvertent circumstances in the background. The Provincial Commissioner advised me to withdraw the appeal but I insisted on its proceeding.

Why shouldn’t I? I had a severe reprimand less than a year ago and then this. I was sure it was aimed at dismissing me and I needed to make my stand clear.  I did not want to know whose ox would be gored.

But why were things happening this way even at my own home? I could no longer understand the unnatural surrounding desperately gnawing at my very existince. Here was I, sent to my own place of origin, but treated more like a stranger, dumped into a sinister social environment with no protection from the people under whom I serve, and only to be stuffed with unmerited indignities. My sharp sensibility to injustice in my fellow creatures made matters worse and only aggravated my resolve to right all wrongs that lie within my reach.

After the series of distasteful events, however, I was still undaunted and in good humour.  Probably my greatest asset from Nature is my profound ability to treat the most grievous circumstances lightly, trusting in the fact that while acting in good faith, with animosity to none, our Maker will take care of the rest.

Two personalities in the Police Force made favourable impression on me: Mr. C. S. K. Bowell, one of Nature’s Inspector-Generals of Police of the Cadets and Mr. I. S. Preud, East Regional Commissioner of Police and father of the Police youths. One thing I was certain of, with the presence of these two considerate personalities, was the sincerity of purpose in me would not pass unnoticed.

While the appeal and the proceedings were being transmitted by express mail, I occupied myself with training the Rivers athletics team where I was captain and the hundred and two hundred meters star. I led the team to the regional competition and snatched the trophy for the province. Further, perhaps as a last service, I led the regional team with Inspector Buraimoh for the national competitions and although my performances were now half-hearted, we came second.  On our return, a telegram arrived from the Headquarters in Lagos, stating that the Man O’ War Bay Leadership and Citizenship Centre in Victoria, Cameroons, had called for me to be instructor. Not long after the message, I packed my kit and stepped gallantly aboard the special Fokker Friendship plane bound for Tiko, in the Cameroons.

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