One of Area’s men reached into the fibreglass boat to help Area climb out. All six men that had returned from Tarkwa Bay walked to their waiting Peugeot. The driver had left the engine running. They dusted sand from the bottoms of their trousers before getting in, and the last man placed a heavy sports bag in the boot; the barrel of a M16 rifle that was too long for the bag poked out from one end.
In silence they drove on the Lekki-Epe Expressway towards Victoria Island. There were hardly any cars on the road.
Police riot vehicles were parked at the tollgate. Officers in riot gear stood between lanes just outside the toll booths, holding their guns in both hands against their bulletproof vests and peering into cars as they drove through raised barriers. A white Honda was parked along the same side as the riot vans. Five young men with their hands raised above their heads were standing by their vehicle while an officer searched in their pockets and another poked around inside their car.
‘Just keep moving,’ Area said to the driver. ‘Slow down but don’t stop.’
The Peugeot rolled through the barrier. An officer with his mesh visor raised over his helmet and his finger on the trigger of his weapon looked into the car. Area, in the front seat next to the driver, looked up at the man. Their eyes met, then the officer looked into the back as the car continued moving.
The Peugeot carried on to Ikoyi, to Dolphin Estate. It stopped in front of 39B Eti-Osa Street. Office of the Street Samaritans.