By Josephine Oguntoyinbo
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Laide, a jobless young girl lived in a rented apartment with her family of six. Her parents lived from hand to mouth. However, she lived like a queen among them so much that every nosy person in our neighbourhood questioned where she got the money for the expensive things she wore.
There were different rumours of how she did unspeakable things for money. Little did they know that the real truth was not yet out.
Her secret became exposed when she was caught at a supermarket in our neighbourhood. Ordinarily, It was another peaceful day at Eleco, the name of the mini supermarket owned by an Igbo man in our neighborhood. He sold Attachments, weave-ons, cosmetics, perfumes, and jewelry, and you and women regularly patronized his shop.
Recently, there have been issues of stolen products, reducing the level of profits of the man. For an Igbo man, now that was a serious problem. The man was already unhinged..
It was a busy market day for those at the supermarket. Customers were many inside the shop. The owner was watching like a hawk to find out who the perpetrators were and as fate would have it, Laide was there again.
She was an experienced thief despite the watchful gaze of the owner she had already stolen a lot of items before without being detected. She could have gone again unscathed. However, this particular ring must have attracted her.
She had run out of hiding spots and decided to put it in her mouth. The owner who was checking the ring discovered that it was missing when she was leaving. He stopped her and asked her about the ring she was checking out a while ago.
The girl in a quest to leave immediately decided to scene. “Are you saying that I am lying? come and search me now?” Before anyone could blink. The girl pulled off her skirt, revealing her panties.
She raised her skirt probably to make them believe her. Instead, it infuriated the man even more as he superstitiously believed that the act could ruin his market.
He gave her a stinging slap that sent the ring flying out of her mouth. It was like a movie.
Everywhere went quiet, you could cut the silence with a knife. And then everywhere went haywire. People started shouting and running to the scene as the owner and his sales boys began to exclaim in shock. The Igbo guys started to search everyone in the shop while most of the customers had run off.
The owner grabbed the girl and was determined to get her arrested for all the thefts that had occurred in his shop.