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Urban Legend | Zikoko!
  • What It’s Like To Have Your Penis Stolen

    “The biggest change in my life since this happened? Hmmm. It’s hard to pick one thing. It’s a lot, you know? Well, if I had a gun to my head and absolutely had to pick, I would say sex.”

    “Sex and peeing.”

    Not like I wanted this to happen, but I always thought that if it did, it would be in a rowdy place, like under the bridge in Ikeja or under the bridge in Oshodi. Somewhere badass at least, just so I wouldn’t have to watch people snicker when I tell them about it.

    In hindsight, I should’ve known the second it happened. I think I did, actually. I felt a tingle in my nether regions. But at the time, I thought it was just me finally discovering my love for being choked.

    I realise the backstory is needed here.

    It was a Friday afternoon. The ice cream parlour was packed and there was a long ass queue, which made sense because the sun was out in all its fiery glory. As with any queue containing Nigerians, there was a scramble not unlike that one scene from that Brad Pitt zombie movie no one remembers. At some point, I noticed that the girl in front of me would sigh whenever I mistakenly bumped into her. I understood her pain (it was an uncomfortable situation to be in) but I became irritated after a while because who the hell shit in your oatmeal, am I right? I tapped her shoulder and (in what I think was a calm voice) asked her to relax. I was going to explain that I was only bumping into her because of all the pushing when this happened:

    After people around got her hands off my throat, she stormed out of the shop angrily. People asked what I did and I said nothing. Was the experience weird? Yes. But I really couldn’t be bothered at the time because her leaving meant that I got to get my ice cream on time.

    The ice cream (vanilla and strawberry with bits of Oreos and waffles scattered in) was DELICIOUS btw.

    It wasn’t until I got home and was doing my usual “Daniel Craig on the beach in Casino Royale” impression in front of the mirror in my underwear that I noticed something different.

    There was no bulge, which was weird because there was supposed to be a bulge. Not to brag, but my bulge was huge. A thing of legend. If I had a dollar for every compliment I’d gotten…

    I’m sorry. I’m digressing.

    Not seeing a bulge sent shivers down my spine so severe that I had to freeze for a bit to let the feeling pass. With shaky hands, I slowly pulled down my boxers and saw… nothing.

    My penis was gone.

    The entire area was so smooth it could’ve passed for a Ken doll’s crotch.

    Legend has it that Mariah Carey is still threatened by the high-pitched scream I let out that day.

    You can probably tell already, but my mind’s first defence against traumatic events is countering it with humour. This is why the first thing that came to my mind after screaming is this comic strip I saw a few years ago about what people who steal penises do with them.

    A sound I can only describe as a chuckle mixed with a sob escaped my lips. This led to a full-on nervous breakdown, brought on by the thought that after drinking so much water earlier in the day (ice cream included), I’d have to pee at some point and with my penis gone, I had no idea how that was going to happen.

    I paced around my dimly-lit room naked, wondering if the magic used to do this was also strong/considerate enough to rework my anatomy so I could still pee some way. (Out of my ass, maybe?) And then I had my worst thought:

    “What if the magic didn’t care? What if my insides remain the same and my bladder just keeps filling with pee and explodes because there’s no outlet?!”

    I must’ve fallen asleep at some point because a strong wave of nausea woke me up. I sprinted to the bathroom and assumed the position over the toilet, wondering if I’d somehow gotten food poisoning on top of everything, when a warm, salty liquid began filling my mouth.

    It was pee.

    This was when the full effect of what had happened finally hit me. When all the pee was out, I sat on the floor next to the toilet, retching and crying. When did this happen?? I Was this my life now? Would I have to do a “Linda Blair in The Exorcist” impression every time I had to pee??

    What was I going to do? I couldn’t tell anyone. I’d trend online and become known as the guy who pees out of his mouth. No way. So I kept my mouth shut. Until now. And that’s only because you’ve promised to keep my identity a secret.

    It’s been six months. Peeing is still torture, but it’s either that or internet infamy, so I’m good. I still have sex btw. I’m not going to explain how, though, because Nigeria isn’t ready for that yet.

    If you’re wondering how I found out that the girl from the ice cream parlour was the culprit (even though it should’ve been obvious given the series of events), she told me. She somehow got my email address and sent me a long ass message explaining why she did what she did. Apparently, during the scramble at the ice cream shop, she believed that all the times I bumped into her were my attempts to rub my penis on her butt. So, she punished me by taking it.

    I haven’t given up hope, though. I mean, I may have found a way to live with my current predicament, but I still want my penis back. I haven’t been able to find her so I’ve been sending messages to the email address she messaged me with.

    Fingers crossed hoping she replies one day.

    Click here to read other stories in the NIGERIAN HORROR STORY series.

  • The Legend Of Madam Koi Koi

    “I know her rage is justified. We did a terrible thing and we deserve to be punished for it. For what it’s worth, it was never our intention for things to turn out as they did.

    We just wanted to teach her a lesson.”


    (STORY CULLED FROM AN ENTRY IN A JOURNAL BELONGING TO A MR. FOLAJIMI BALOGUN)

    It happened in April 1993.

    Everyone knew she stayed late on Fridays. That, we decided, was the perfect time to execute our hastily put together plan. We hid close to the staff room so we wouldn’t miss her exit. We’d fashioned masks out of our shirts. We were ready.

    “She deserves this,” I said to my friend and eventual accomplice, Joe, that morning. “She’s a fucking terrible person.”

    And in our defence, she kinda was.

    Miss Caroline was, hands down, the meanest teacher at our school. She was like a real life Disney villainess. She owned a Sport Billy-style torture sack that contained such a wide variety of stuff (canes, kobokos etc) that no one would’ve batted an eye if she’d whipped out nipple clamps at any point.

    Well, maybe our parents, but not the students. You see, Miss Caroline was very attractive. And when you’re in an all-boys secondary school, raging hormones force you to ogle whoever you get the chance to. In this case, Miss Caroline.

    Not me though. I hated that woman with as much passion as my 16-year old heart could muster.

    But I’m digressing.

    As she left her office that evening, her red high-heeled shoes clacking away on the concrete floor, Joe and I tackled her to the ground, dragged her back into the empty staff room, gagged her, and turned off the lights.

    The plan was to rough her up a bit. Scare her a little. Let her know that we (the students) weren’t going to take her shit any more. But as the saying I’m making up right now goes; revenge is one hell of a drug.

    The thing they never tell you about accidentally beating another human to death is how much acting you have to do after. We had to act shocked when the news spread after her body was found. We had to act disgusted during the assembly on Monday morning when the principal described, in graphic detail, the state in which Miss Caroline’s body was found.

    “She was barely recognizable. She had been beaten to a pulp, teeth smashed in, and the heel of one of her shoes was firmly lodged in her right eye.”

    Revenge is one hell of a drug.

    We had to act sad during her funeral, which took place in our school’s chapel, as we watched members of her family break down in tears. It was an open-casket funeral and the morticians did the best they could but she still looked like she’d been hit in the face repeatedly with a mallet.

    Damn.

    The entire time, I wondered if the police had gotten any leads. I mean, we panicked when we realized she’d died and taken her purse with us to make it look like a mugging gone wrong but no one inflicts the kind of damage we did for a purse. A couple of days passed without any major events relating to the incident so I believed we were in the clear.

    Then Joe started to crack.

    To say that Joe was wracked with guilt is an understatement. He was constantly freaking out, convinced that he was being haunted by a “shadow demon that tapped the floor as it moved. I remember making a joke about the demon wearing 6-inch heels. Joe was not amused.

    When I couldn’t handle it anymore, I decided that I was going to deny Joe if he mistakenly blabbed to anyone. This wasn’t necessary though because Joe left the school a few days later in a straitjacket after biting off a sizeable chunk of another student’s ear. I never saw or heard from him again. I graduated not long after that.

    That’s when I started seeing it.

    And somehow, I knew it was her.

    Every time I closed my eyes, there she was, invading my dreams. She was exactly like Joe described; an ethereal shadow entity that made a clacking sound when it moved. This went on until I began to dread falling asleep. Exhausted from my lack of sleep, I remember thinking I was hallucinating when I saw her for the first time in my dorm room in Uni.

    In real life.

    I stared at her for what felt like a full minute and pinched myself to make sure I was still awake. As I did this, I saw a face form and give the most spine-chilling smile I’ve ever seen. Anticipating my next move, she moved to block the door.

    Then she came at me with the quickness.

    I woke up a couple of hours later and she was gone. My room was a mess and my body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Everything hurt. Unable to move because of the pain, I lay still on the floor, fucking terrified that she would come back and finish me off.

    I eventually dropped out of Uni and went back home. My parents were confused but I couldn’t explain to them without revealing that I’d straight up accidentally murdered someone a while back and was now living in my own supernatural sequel to “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

    I pretty much became a hermit. Figured it was an easier way to deal with things. With every encounter (every single one of them violent), I begged for her forgiveness.

    This went on for ten years.

    I don’t know if she’s finally forgiven me or made the decision to do something productive with her (after) life but I haven’t seen her in months. I feel like I’ve done my penance. I can leave the house in peace now. I even spoke to my parents about going back to Uni and they’re stoked. Sure, I’ll be one of the oldest there. But, better late than never, eh?

    Today is the 12th of June 2003, and for the first time in a long time, I’m happy because the future looks good. I’ll finally be able to move on with my life. I couldn’t be happier tbh.

    Click here to read other stories in the NIGERIAN HORROR STORY series.

  • Biodun was being calm on the outside but he was lowkey furious. When Obinna called him on the phone, sounding frantic and saying he needed help, he was sure Obinna had gotten himself into trouble again. Obinna had a reputation for being the worst kind of onigbese. The kind that would borrow money, try to skip town, get caught, and need to be saved from a beat down.

     

    This is the kind of friendship Biodun would’ve logged out of years ago but they’d known each other a long time. They were like brothers at this point, and he believed Obinna could be saved.

     

    By the end of the night, he’d realize just how wrong he was.

    He was drifting off to sleep when Obinna burst in, clutching a small duffle bag. His clothes were tattered, and he was covered in tiny, deep cuts and dried blood. Biodun was terrified.

     

    “What happened to you??”

     

    Obinna didn’t answer. He locked the door and dashed around the living room, shutting the windows and drawing the blinds. After ensuring all doors and windows were locked, he turned around.

     

    “I’m in trouble, Biodun.”

     

    “Yeah. I guessed that when you burst in looking like you tried to fight a big cat,” Biodun replied. Throwing panicked looks around the room, Obinna rushed over and sat him down in the nearest chair.

     

    “I need to tell you something and you have to let me finish because it’s important you let me finish.”

     

    “Did you borrow money from someone and try to skip town again? If that’s it, you might as well spare me this backstory. Let’s just go pay them and apologize so they don’t break your knees.”

     

    “This isn’t like other times, I swear. Just let me explain. Please”

    “Remember that fine girl I told you about? The one doing her NYSC in that military barracks in Ogun state that’s in the middle of nowhere?”

     

    “Yeah. I can’t remember her name though. Did she do this?”

     

    “I don’t remember her name either and it’s not important to this story so let’s not dwell on it. And no, she’s not responsible. But it did happen when I visited her. Do you know that that barracks only has pit latrines??”

     

    “What?”

     

    “No water closets anywhere. So bizarre. Anyways, my first night there, I was pressed and decided to go unload in the bush –”

     

    “Ew, gross.”

     

    “Shhhh! I went to unload in the bush because I’d honestly rather die than squat over a latrine.”

     

    “So you’re willing to squat in the middle of the bush but not over a latrine?”

     

    “SHHHHHH! You’re digressing. Anyways, when I was all done and getting ready to leave the bush, I heard a baby crying. It was very faint at first and for a second I thought I was hearing things, but it got really loud all of a sudden.”

     

    “Don’t tell me you followed the sound.”

     

    Obinna didn’t answer immediately. He grimaced and lowered his head.

     

    “I followed the sound.”

     

    Biodun was like:

     

    Obinna immediately began defending his actions.

     

    I was going to ignore it because I’ve seen every horror movie ever, but then I thought that it could be an abandoned baby situation and if the baby ended up dying because of my irrational fear, I’d never forgive myself. But it wasn’t a baby, fam. It was — and I’m going to need you to keep an open mind here — it was a bush baby.”

     

    There was a long pause during which Biodun briefly considered throwing Obinna out. He settled for a deep sigh instead.

     

    “I would ask if it’s crack you’re on but I’m pretty sure you can’t afford it.”

     

    “I know what this sounds like but I SWEAR TO GOD this isn’t a joke. Everything you’ve heard about them is true.”

     

    “Like how they’re a fictional race of  magical forest creatures made up to scare boarding school children into going to bed on time?”

     

    Obinna ignored him and kept talking.

     

    “They’re short and stocky and look like a cross between Sméagol and the leprechaun in that 90s horror movie starring Jennifer Aniston’s nipples. They’re ugly as sin and cry like human babies to draw people in. They have magic and a lantern and…and a mat!”

     

    With that, Obinna reached into the duffle bag he’d been clutching since he came in and pulled out a shiny mat made out of pure gold. Biodun got up and backed away like:

    Still holding the mat up, Obinna walked towards Biodun, who kept backing away with the look of a person whose reality had just been shattered.

     

    “I take it you believe me now.”

     

    “Isn’t that a thing they’re supposed to guard jealously? Why do you have it?”

     

    “The one I found gave it to me. More like offered it. It made me a deal that if I could keep it on me for 7 days, it would automatically become mine. Seemed easy enough. And I figured that I could sell it and finally make something of my life, you know?”

     

    Biodun didn’t respond. He was trying to shake off the sense of impending doom he was feeling. Obinna went on.

     

    “What it didn’t tell me was how difficult holding on to this was going to be. Since I got it, it has been relentless in its efforts to get it back. Relentlessly violent.”

     

    He spread out his arms to show more cuts.

     

    “That’s how I got these. I realized I’d messed with some real shit when it showed up the next night and murdered the girl I went to see. It was brutal, man, and strangely quiet at the same time. It tore her limb from limb. I knew no one in the barracks would believe my story so I ran. And I’ve been running. But I’m so close to the finish line and after that, I’m home free!”

     

    Something about Obinna’s last sentence made Biodun’s brain jam. The feeling of dread that had started when he’d been forced to believe Obinna’s story had risen to insane levels. He began putting words together, slowly.

     

    “You said you’re almost at the finish line. When did all this start?”

     

    “7 days ago.”

     

    “Doesn’t that mean you’ve won?”

     

    “Well, not yet,” Obinna answered, gesturing at the wall clock. “It’s 11:45 pm. I have 15 more minutes before midnight. That’s when the game ends.”

     

    Biodun began to hyperventilate.

     

    “Dude, what’s wrong?”

     

    “YOU BROUGHT IT HERE!”

     

    All the lights in the house went out. The front door violently blew open.

     

    The silhouette of a short, stocky figure stood in the doorway.

    Click here to read other stories in the NIGERIAN HORROR STORY series.