Chapter 4: Blood for Tarmac

No other plan, police try their last card: sniper ambush for airport.

Sniper dey hide behind bush, some dey peep from hangar window. Cold dey bite hand, sweat still dey back. Everybody dey sweat for cold night.

But another wahala show. Police think say na four or five terrorists, so dem bring only five snipers.

Command centre dey talk, "How many be dem?" One man reply, "Maybe four." Na guesswork everywhere.

Now dem realise say na eight terrorists—snipers no reach.

Na at that point, people dey run upandan, dey find backup, but time no dey again.

And these snipers no be professionals, na just police wey sabi shoot small.

No be like American SWAT o! These ones, na only rifle dem get for training. No real field work, some never even shoot human before.

To make am worse, their equipment na last-minute arrangement—no real sniper rifle, no night vision, nothing.

One sniper dey use hunting gun, another dey use binocular wey get crack. If na Naija, dem go call am "managing situation."

By 10:30 p.m., helicopters land for air force base. The terrorist leader go check passenger plane, see say everywhere empty, realise dem don play am.

Issa vex, him eye red like person wey dey suspect wife. E shout: "Dem don deceive us!"

He rush back to helicopter, na that time gunfire start as snipers begin shoot.

Sniper squeeze trigger, but hand dey shake. First shot miss, second shot na warning. The place burst into chaos.

True sniper suppose kill with one shot, but these ones—no training, no equipment—miss shot everywhere.

Bullet dey fly, glass dey break. One terrorist fall, another dodge. For tarmac, people dey crawl, dey shout. Some dey pray: "God abeg!"

The terrorists, wey dem no kill straight, begin shoot back. For like thirty minutes, both sides dey exchange fire.

Some terrorists dey use hostages as shield, dey fire anyhow. Police dey try cover, dey beg for backup. Na real life Nollywood action.

You go think say police go use their power finish the terrorists quick, but why the thing drag?

People wey dey watch for TV dey complain: "All these oyibo, dem no sabi police work at all!" Even for Germany, people dey curse police.

Turns out say the six armoured vehicles wey police arrange get stuck for road.

One driver park for wrong place, another one dey ask for direction. Na so dem jam traffic. Okada for Lagos traffic go shame these ones.

Reporters and people wey come watch full everywhere, block road.

People dey snap picture, some dey do live commentary. "See am! See am!" Na confusion and commotion.

Na around 11 p.m. the armoured vehicles finally reach, ready to rush the helicopters.

When dem finally arrive, engine dey cough, one headlamp no dey work. But everybody still hope, "Maybe e go better."

As terrorists see say everything don spoil, dem pull grenade pin, throw am inside one helicopter, then spray the other one with bullets.

For split second, silence—then wahala bust. Grenade explode, fire rush everywhere. Some hostages still dey beg for life, but bullet no get friend. Terrorists finish job with wicked heart.

By the end, all nine hostages don die, one West German police die, five terrorists shot dead, three dem catch alive.

Tears full ground, ambulance dey pick body. For TV, newscaster dey cry. The world just quiet, no word to talk.

Even, one hostage still dey breathe and dem fit save am.

Na so dem drag am come out, e still dey gasp. Everybody dey hope say maybe, maybe e go live.

But ambulance no show for over one hour, so dem miss the time to rescue am.

For Naija, people for say, "Ambulance wey dey carry party rice, e no fit reach on time." By the time help come, man don go.

For this operation, everybody see say West German police no get power and no sabi, but that one no even be the worst part:

People for street, from Lagos to Lagos Island, from Jos to Calabar, dey shake head. Everybody dey ask, "Na like this police dey work for oyibo land?" Even elders for village dey pray say make such evil no ever reach their compound. Nobody sleep that night. For every home, prayer dey rise—God, abeg, protect us from wahala wey no get name.