Another kind of war

‘Assalamu alaikum, I had to rush over here to see you Bint because I just can’t go home with this thing on my mind.’ My friend Amina said, while walking next to me towards the sitting room.
‘And what thing is this that’s got you so breathless Amina?’ I asked with a smile. 
‘You know today is our day to visit at the state penitentiary for women. Our association of women lawyers always organises these outing once a month to see how we can offer free legal services to female inmates, especially those awaiting trial. We went to the state central prison and one of the cases we handled moved me to tears. But it also made me resolve to do something about the cause of such a pathetic situation.’ She explained.
‘I see, and what situation was that?’ I asked, sitting next to her on the settee.
‘You see there was this teenage girl who has been incarcerated for six months. She was among those we were scheduled to meet. She looked too gentle to be a prison inmate. I asked her why she was in prison but all she could do was cry. She cried silently without saying a word.  And while the tears flowed down her face I wondered what her offence was. I was forced to ask her elderly cellmate who replied that the young lady was brought in for stealing. I asked what she stole and was told that she allegedly stole gold from a   shop in the market.
‘But was it a lie, is she crying because she was falsely accused?’ I asked.
‘No, but every night she cries herself to sleep because she is convinced that it was her foolishness that led to her travails.’ The cellmate disclosed.
‘You mean she is only crying because she got caught in the act?’ I asked.
‘No, Hajiya that is not the reason.’ The crying teenager replied, rising her head to wipe her tears. ‘I am crying because I was tricked into it. You see, I have never been a thief. I have always been an honest person and my parents are honest and decent people too. Six months ago, a friend of mine was getting married. She introduced her ashoebi material to me and I promised her I  will buy it and attend the wedding. But I didn’t have the money so I went to another friend to ask how to raise the N8000 I needed to do the wedding uniform. I confided in her that my parents had no such cash to spare.’
My friend told me she knew a way out. She said I should ask my suitor or any admirer to buy for me. I told her I wasn’t into begging admirers for money because I was too shy.  Then she said there was another option. She asked me to join her the following day and she will take me to a lady who likes to help people. I went the next day and we went to a house full of women. There was lots of food on a dining table, it looked like a feast. I was invited to eat and I  gladly partook because I was very hungry. Afterwards my friend invited me to another room to talk to our hostess. That was when I was told that I will be paid enough money to buy my ashoebi and have some left over and I will do some work for the rich lady. So we were asked to meet the next day and set out on the assignment. 
As if I was hypnotised, I found myself doing whatever my friend ordered from that time on. When we reached the shop the next morning she told me to watch while she engaged the shopkeeper then she will give me a signal to start picking the gold sets on display. And I did exactly that. By the time I picked the fourth one, she touched me and I knew it was the signal to stop. So I turned to go having pocketed them in my handbag. But the moment we turned to go, the guy by the door of the shop grabbed my bag and opened it.’
To be continued.