I had gone to the Nigerian Prison facility in the heart of Nnewi to worship with members of my Anglican church who ended up in such a correctional institution. The person that was supposed to have gone on this mission had another engagement that wouldn’t permit him to honour his responsibility to these young people with restricted movement, and he sought my help. I had to accept such a task with my heart palpitating dangerously like it would take off by ripping through my ribcage. But I looked forward to such an experience nevertheless.

The journalist in me wouldn’t have his mind dwell on what could’ve brought these good looking and not-so-good looking young ones to such a community. There were a few middle-aged men in beggarly physical disposition with eyes already sinking deeper within their sockets to tell stories of defiance and pretense. But who am I to judge them!

Immediately after the service while some of them summoned courage to surround me for greetings, I waved the youngest among them to me. My heart was melting fast like butter under such intense sun as was up in the sky that godly Sunday when his remorseful eyes engaged mine. Filled with such compassion, I asked him what brought such a kid to a place like a prison. He was twenty then. This was in 2015. He briefly told me that his penchant for uncontrollable anger outbursts and consequent unintended actions did him in.

Pray tell!

He is from a poor home and sixteen then – all completely ignorant of our actions having consequences. As the first son of his poor parents, he took up menial jobs to augment and to keep himself in school.

Then on that fateful day, he got lucky when chosen to work with a tipper-lorry driver to move molded concrete blocks to a certain location. It was there that he ran into his Achilles heels in one boy from the next village that had fought with him many times over job openings of artisan-type. He never liked this boy who would always taunt and mock him to no-end. And so when they were on the road on top the blocks in the lorry, this now-dead boy threw one disgusting joke of mockery coloration with his mother at the receiving end, in one mad rush of emotions beclouding his senses, he made a dive at the boy and next thing he saw was the boy falling off the fast-moving truck and another car coming behind them knocking him off his feet with the tyres running over his legs when he landed.

He was pronounced dead by the time he was brought to the hospital. Dead on arrival.

Our brother was summarily tried at age 16 and sentenced to a life prison term on his eighteenth birthday.

“My uncontrollable spat of anger brought me here sir. Please be praying for me.”

He looks so innocent and remorseful. I remember him always in prayer.