CH3: TROUBLING CASE

This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.

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CH3: TROUBLING CASE

Korede Balogun was not enjoying the current topic of conversation, so he decided to change the subject.

"Dad, what about you, are you OK? You seem more stressed than usual? The file you were reading looked like a case file. What case is so serious that your agents can't handle that you had to bring home?" Korede asked, partly to change the subject but more because he was concerned about his father.

Babatunde Balogun has grown more grey hair over the past four months that he wasn't around. While that is not an indicator of stress in itself as evident in his mother. Shade Balogun is just as stressed with her position as a Supreme Court Justice but looks no older than her fifties while being in her sixties. Babatunde had been bringing office work home all week that Korede has been home leading him to the conclusion of stress.

"While being the Director-General of the Department of State Security is stressful, it is not that bad. The reason I have been having more work is that I'm planning to retire and I want to clear out my table before doing so." Babatunde answered, causing Korede to nod.

D.G. Balogun's impending retirement was no longer a surprise as he had been mentioning it for a while now. He had planned on retiring earlier but the powers-that-be had asked him to put it on hold as there was no ready successor they were confident in. However, D.G Balogun would soon clock sixty-five, which is the maximum retirement age hence they had no choice but to allow him to retire.

"Won't Uncle Emeka be succeeding you?" Korede asked.

"I don't know. You have to understand that the office of Director-General is more of a political one. So, a lot of interests are involved. I doubt he would be able to succeed me. I actually don't think he wants the job and seems content with his position as the Director of the Lagos State Division." Babatunde answered as a small chuckle escaped his mouth.

Babatunde place down his glass cup and reached for the case file he was looking through and handed it over to Korede. Korede Balogun was employed by the DSS as a consultant hence there was no issue with him reading the file.

Babatunde said seriously, "The incident happened three months ago while you were in boot camp, so I'm not sure you've heard about it. An unidentified male assailant walked into a party of children of the affluent society. Almost all the successor of anyone who is anyone in high society was there, politicians, businessmen, diplomats, traditional rulers you name it."

Korede nodded in understanding. He would have been invited if he were around. He and his brother Kola had been invited to such parties all the time but they never went as they could care less for such events but the invites kept coming anyway.

"The assailant was able to bypass security and opened fire on the guest. Thankfully, no one was killed. However, during the commotion, he was able to abduct five of the guest, four males and one female, all of whom were close friends and children of politicians belonging to a faction in the ruling party. The abductees were found dead a day later at a construction site in a rural part of Lagos. The female was found to have been raped numerous times before she finally died. In essence, she was raped to death while the males died of a single gunshot to the head."

Babatunde paused for a while and looked at Korede who nodded back at him indicating he understood the sequence of events that happened. He signalled for his father to continue.

"With the evidence gathered, Agents investigating the case moved on the assumption that these five were the intended targets and the female, in particular, was the primary target. With how messy the incident was, a professional hit was ruled out. No messages or ransom demands reached the parents of the victims, so the likelihood of this being a result of the parents' activities was considered less likely even though all leads were pursued. The investigation hit a roadblock, not because of no suspects that had a grudge against the victims but rather the opposite. Apparently, the victims were bullies who used their families' influence to oppress people. Half of the guests at the party hated them and weren't even affected when they were informed of their earlier abduction and subsequent death. They didn't even make attempts to hide their disgust for the victims."

"If people from their circle hated them that much, then their character must be really bad. That also makes our work more difficult since there will be a large suspect pool then." Korede commented.

"You'd think so." Babatunde said, "However, the investigating agents caught a lucky break. Lab results came back on the semen found on the female victim. It was matched to a man named Ayobami Ifelodun." Babatunde handed another file to Korede which contained the lab result and Ayobami's details.

Korede read the result, nodded his head and said, "This is pretty conclusive. This Ayobami Ifelodun is involved. Even if he didn't kill the victims, he definitely raped the female. The case should pretty much be easy from here on." However, as soon as he said this, he realised a problem. If the case was as simple as it seems, why would the Director-General of the DSS be involved? So, he asked his father in an unsure tone, "Then what's wrong, Dad? What's your interest in the case?"

"Actually… " His father responded, seemingly hesitating to say something. "It's better you watch this." Babatunde Balogun opened his laptop and played two videos for his son to watch.

The first video was a surveillance footage showing the assailant shooting at the guests before making his way to the five abductees and the suspect, Mr. Ayobami Ifelodun, in another location at the time of the shooting.

In the second video, Mr. Ayobami Ifelodun was being interrogated. After Korede watched the video to the end, surprise was written on his face, 'How is this possible…? But the evidence clearly… but he can't be at two places at the same time. Even in the interrogation room, he wasn't lying either' thought Korede.

Korede looked at his father and saw that the older man expected the expression on his face. However, Babatunde asked his son anyway, "What do you think?"

"He is telling the truth when he said he had never raped nor killed anyone." Korede responded.

"As I thought," Babatunde said, hearing his son's response. "He even has an alibi for the suggested time of death of victims. Everyone interviewed about him only had good things to say about him. To the extent that everyone, even our Agents, believes he's innocent. But then how is it possible for his semen to be on the female?"

[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion really matters to me.]