![]() A senior officer in mufti who sat partially hidden by the half wall took over from his untamed boys and grilled me. One yanked my bag off me immediately while the other pushed and kicked me as he barked orders for me to move in the direction of a nearby storey building. ![]() Within minutes two soldiers emerged from their trenches and seized me. In the middle of nowhere I choked for divine help. The frantic man who brought me from Sierra Leone dropped me suddenly as we approached the city center and pointed hurriedly at a certain direction where I could possibly find a hotel, as he turned right obviously in the direction of his neighbourhood. READ ALSO: While people fled, I was running into Liberian war – Queen Juli Endee, Liberian singer With his driver and me in the front seat of a new car, we took off on one of the most dangerous journeys that I have ever undertaken. I was desperate to go into Monrovia for my professional duty and nothing would deter me. He was desperate to go to Monrovia to evacuate his family and nothing would deter him. The thought of returning to Nigeria flooded my heart all night, but in the morning, I met a Liberian Muslim leader who was at the peace talks. I couldn’t sleep at all that night because of the rampant gunshots in the area and violent squabbles by the marijuana-smoking and drunken rebels. Here, I began for the first time to feel and smell the danger lurking ahead. I found my way by taxis and buses to Kenema by night, and spent the night in a rebel-infested dingy hotel. Newswatch must report this war from the theatre of war itself, I kept telling myself. They told me it was not safe for me to travel to Monrovia when virtually anyone who had the means was hurrying out of the country. I made contacts with both factions to the peace talks, checked into the same hotel with them and interviewed key delegates. I turned up in Freetown about the same time peace talks between the Liberian warring factions were being hurriedly put together. My unscheduled trip to Sierra Leone became a blessing. This was a 700-kilometers journey through tortuous and treacherous Nigerian-like roads, but I was determined to be in Liberia. The only option left for me was to go to Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone by road and find my way to Monrovia via Kenema, the Sierra Leonean border town with Liberia. READ ALSO: Navy shows strength in Gulf of Guinea While the three of them were lucky to fly directly into Monrovia, I got stuck in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, as Air Guinea, the only Airline that was still braving the Liberian route, was no longer willing to risk the trip. He was a tall, lanky and gentle fellow, the direct opposite of my friend Krees who was short, robust and swift. I had known Frank casually in one or two assignments, but I had never met Tayo until that assignment in Liberia. The four of us were the first Nigerian reporters to cover the Liberian civil war from the onset, unprotected by a peacekeeping force, which was in any case not in existence at that time. ![]() Along with Krees and me was Tayo Awotosin of the Daily Champion, and Frank Nwabueze of National Concord. Just as Newswatch ordered me to proceed to Liberia, The Guardian also dispatched my bosom friend Krees Imodibe for the same assignment.
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