The Set-Up

The issue started like a bad joke
He got a memo from one of his superiors
He had been summoned to a meeting at 4 pm
He had no idea what the meeting was about
He went to check his direct supervisor in
his office
His direct supervisor was not on seat
There was a lot of silence, pregnant silence
One of those cases in which everybody
knew what was going on and the person
who the issue was about was still in the 
dark
He noticed that the workflow was 
circumventing him
He was suddenly being treated like a leper
His colleagues were not making eye contact
with him
Something was seriously wrong somewhere
He tried to log into the office's intranet and 
go through the internal memos
To his shock, he had been logged out
What!
It was usually a precursor to getting the sack
Being logged out of the bank's operating
system
He began to panic
He had a wedding ahead
He had been dating his babe for six years
It was an inter-tribal marriage and getting
the consent of either parent was a bit
difficult
He had battled through three bouts of 
depression with her support
He had cheated on her once
The previous December at the annual end 
of the year party of the bank, he was working
for
He had too much to drink and found
himself dancing with a willing lady
Somehow at around 1 AM, he found himself
and the lady in the backseat of his car
Somehow he found himself kissing and
fondling her
Somehow he found out too late that
he had left his sense at home
By the time he got home that morning
he realized the relationship he treasured
the most in the world was under siege
She was more than a girlfriend to him
She was his life
That indiscretion was straight from the
pit of hell
He couldn't break her heart that way
He couldn't treat her with such disrespect
He went to her house the following day
He fell on his knees and cried
He confessed everything
He begged for her forgiveness
She forgave him
Soon after that, her parents agreed
His parents also agreed
They got a date
They had their introduction
It was glorious
He also got promoted at the office
Things were working out so well
And now...
He couldn't think of one thing that
he did wrong
His banking work was always spick
and span
His team had been extremely productive
and surpassing targets for the past
six months
Why the summon and the cold shoulder
and the sudden dread that filled his heart?
He had goose pimples all over
His need to urinate suddenly increased
within minutes
He was very scared
Somehow, 4pm arrived
He walked into the conference room
He saw some other people there
Four other people from his previous
team
They were informed it was a fraud inquiry
There was a transaction that was done
on behalf of a client that has led to the
fraud of money up to the tune of 890 
million Naira
He was handed a document, as were the
others
The name of the client was boldly written
on it 
The client was his client
He brought the client into the bank as a
customer during his third year and had
managed the client's accounts until he
was promoted six months before
He had handed the account over to his
direct supervisor at the time
On the very day he was promoted, the client
had called him about a transaction he wanted
to do with a foreign bank
They had discussed at length
But after the promotion was confirmed and
he was instructed to hand over everything
to his boss before resuming at his new office
He had deliberately gone to his direct
supervisor with the brief and discussed it
with him
He had no knowledge of the whole transaction
beyond that
The panel listened to the other guys
They were directly involved in the transaction
and they all had roles to play in the said
transaction
He had no business being there
He also wondered why his direct supervisor
was not there to answer questions
After almost two hours of standing in a
dock he had no business being in
They were told there will be another
meeting the following week while
the team conducts their investigation
The four of them were told to keep off
the banking premises until then
WOW!
It was extremely shocking and disappointing
Didn't they hear a word of what he said?
He was not involved in the transaction
at all
He was not a party to whatever went down
He had no dealings or knowing in the actual
facts being investigated
Why was he suspended?
When he got home, he called his babe
He told her everything
They prayed together
He tried calling his direct supervisor
The number was busy
By 9am the next morning, he got a
phone call from one of his former
colleagues in the bank where he used
to work before moving to the current
bank he was working with
The former colleague told him his current
employees had written to the bank to
give them information about him and
his record while he was with them
Wow!
Around noon, the lady with whom he
cheated on his fiance sent him a message
She said the bank had officially written to
invite the EFCC to their next meeting as
they had hit a jackpot in their investigations!
Most of the documents that were traced
to the fraud bore his signature
He was either the culprit or being set up!
He started praying
He knew nothing about the transaction
The client was into engineering fabrications
for oil service companies and oil companies
He was a heavy importer of raw materials
and often in need of foreign exchange
He had always been above board in his
dealings with all his clients, the problem was,
 he was not involved in the transactions being
discussed at all!
He couldn't sleep throughout that night
By 2 AM he called the Brother in Jeans and
T-shirt
They had been chatting on and off before
then via Twitter DM
He told him everything
He needed help to get out of the noose
that was slowly being tightened around
his neck
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt prayed 
with him
He gave him some scriptures and instructed
him to read them aloud
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt told
him the truth would be resurrected 
in the conscience of the culprit
The next day, the client called him
The client wanted to know what went 
wrong
They had gone through several transactions
together in the past and there was no problem
He told the client he knew nothing about
the transaction because he was promoted
and handed the file to his supervisor
His client screamed!
"No way! I told that your supervisor that
you are the one I want to deal with and
if they do not produce you, I will be taking
my money elsewhere!
That evening, I got a message from you
via whatsapp
You told me you had been promoted but
would work with me due to my insistence
Then you took over the transaction!"
What!!!
He told his client to screen grab all the
exchanges between "them" that were
on his phone
He particularly asked for the phone number
When he got everything he needed
He called the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
and told him everything
He said he was sure it was his supervisor
He used his name to front for the transaction
in which the client was defrauded!
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt told
him to send all the information to his
Supervisor's phone without adding
a comment of his own!
"Just let him know that you now know
the truth, the Holy Spirit will do the rest"
He did just that
Nothing happened after then
Nobody else called him
His direct supervisor also didn't 
acknowledge the message
The days trudged and wobbled by
It was the longest week of his life
Finally, the D-day came
He got to the office just in time
for the panel meeting
Unlike the first one, they were called
into the hall one after the other this time
He got to go first
As he had been informed, the officers
of the EFCC were present
He was grilled like crazy
"Where have you worked before?
Have you ever done a transaction
of this magnitude?
How can you say you had no knowledge
of a transaction that had your signature
all over it
Do you understand the implication of your
own words?
Who brought this client to this bank?
Were you given the authority to hand
over your client to somebody else?
Who authorized that?
So many questions
It felt like Royal Rumble
Everybody hitting him and expecting
him to be the last man standing
It took almost two hours
He didn't do well at all
He was told to wait outside the 
conference room
Another "culprit" was called in
He sat there, breathing in and out
panting and anxious
It felt to him like it was the last free
breath he would ever breathe
The EFCC will take him away and
he would lose his freedom
His life as he had planned it was over
He had been cheated out of life
and given a sorry version of existence
by others who were greedy and 
manipulative
He was a victim, like so many before him
He cried
After about thirty minutes
An idea struck him
He was outside of the conference room
There was no policeman or EFCC officer
around
He could actually leave the bank
He could run and disappear into thin
air
He doesn't have to lose his freedom
for a crime, he didn't commit
He stood up and with shaky feet walked
out of the banking hall
Nobody stopped or challenged him
He was prepared to tell anybody who
asked him any question that he
was going to buy some snacks at
the eatery close-by
When he got outside the banking 
premises, he exhaled
He was out
All he had to do was get in his car
and disappear
He knew he would be found guilty
His supervisor was not even being
questioned
He tried mentioning his supervisor's
name almost ten times but he was
shut down
The panel had closed ranks and protected
their friend 
He was expendable
He was the scapegoat
He was the one being thrown under 
the bus
He got in his car and started the engine
He reversed and got himself away from
the bank's parking lot
The something told him to call the
Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
He did
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt picked
his call
He told the Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
what was on his mind to do
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt laughed
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt said
"Go back to that bank! I assure you, no
matter what they had decided, nobody
will be able to look at your countenance
and pronounce you guilty!
When they look at your face, they will
see the power of the Holy Spirit
You will be like Apostle Peter
Their hearts will melt and cut within
them
They will be compelled to do the
right thing!"
They prayed
He parked his car and returned to the
banking hall
After another hour, he was invited
back into the conference hall
He was surprised to find his direct
supervisor in the conference room
They had invited his direct supervisor in 
while he was executing the "failed escape"
His client was also there
He had been invited by the bank and
had arrived while he was plotting to
escape
He had almost used the flesh to kill
the orchestrations of the Holy Spirit
The head of the panel spoke for some
time
He said he was disappointed in the 
conduct of Mr. So and So who ought
to nurture and train the blah blah blah
The panel had found his direct 
supervisor and three others guilty
Not only of the fraud but also of trying
to implicate an innocent staff in the
process in order to cover their
trail!
He didn't know exactly what happened
His client said he recorded their phone
conversation and played it for the panel
while they were discussing
The client said he had done his investigation
and found out the phone number he was
given was registered to the wife of
his direct supervisor
Why would his direct supervisor impersonate
him to fool a client into giving consent?
The matter blew open at that point
The panel invited his Direct Supervisor
The evidence pointed squarely at him
When he saw that there was no room for
maneuver
He confessed and promised to refund the
money in full in exchange for no charges,
non-prosecution and resignation
The bank said no!
He was handed over to the EFCC that
same day!

PS: The Direct Supervisor eventually
got a plea deal
He refunded the money in exchange
for three years in jail.
He was sacked and blacklisted by
the bank
The Holy Spirit brought Daniel out of
the lion's den unharmed
Glory be to God.

GSW's notes: Some of us are too smart
by half
It makes it almost impossible for us to
rely on God for His help
I learned years ago that our "smartness"
is our undoing especially after we have
come to know the Holy Spirit
He is our wisdom, our riddance and our
Help
Depending on him makes things work 
perfectly according to his plan
But making plans and asking Him to
sign off on it makes us lose out in the
long run
Do you trust the Holy Spirit?
Are you willing to lean on Him and be
guided?
Or are you wise in your own counsel?