Ibrahim stepped out and his boots sank into sand. The police van was in the middle of a long, straight, narrow road. Mature vegetation grew wild on either side and there were no houses.
‘Get out,’ Ibrahim said to Malik.
Bakare reached inside and Malik shimmied over and got out through the other door. Ibrahim led him by the arm to the front of the van where the officers formed a circle around them. A cloud of bats flew overhead. The men looked up till the last of the mammals had disappeared over the trees on the other side of the road.
‘I will give each of you five hundred thousand naira if you let me go,’ Malik said.
The officers stared at him. Nobody spoke.
‘One million each,’ Malik said. He turned, looking into each officer’s face. ‘All of you.’ He continued turning in the circle. ‘I am very rich. I have very powerful friends. I will give each of you ten million naira. Ten million for you, ten million for you, ten million for you.’ He faced Ibrahim and pointed at him. ‘Just shoot him. Ten million naira for each of you, if you shoot him now. And ten million extra for the person who shoots him first.’ His finger remained pointed at Ibrahim. The men stared into each other’s eyes.