Clash!! EFCC vs Alex Badeh

Former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, has denied reports that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) found the sum of one million dollars in his home during a raid. His lead counsel, Samuel Zibri (SAN), described the report as totally false and wicked, PM News reports. A national newspaper had reported that the sum of $1million was discovered in one of the houses of Badeh. Reacting to the report, Badeh’s lawyer in a statement last night said: “Our attention has been drawn to the publication by Punch Newspaper of March 7th 2016 to the effect that the sum of $1,000,000(One Million US Dollars) cash was recovered in the house of Air Chief Marshal A.S Badeh (Rtd). “The said publication is not only malicious but wicked. It is totally false and smacks of media campaign of calumny against the person of Air Marshal Alex. A Badeh (Rtd).” 

Zibri challenged the faceless EFCC official who made the allegation to substantiate his claim. The EFCC had filed a 10-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and corruption before the court against Badeh. The anti-graft agency accused the former defence chief of unlawfully using dollar equivalent of the sum of N1.1bn removed from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force to purchase a mansion at Maitama, Abuja. Badeh was arraigned on Monday, March 7, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was ordered to be remanded in Kuje prison by the presiding judge, Justice Okon Abang

 

Former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, has denied reports that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) found the sum of one million dollars in his home during a raid. His lead counsel, Samuel Zibri (SAN), described the report as totally false and wicked, PM News reports. A national newspaper had reported that the sum of $1million was discovered in one of the houses of Badeh. Reacting to the report, Badeh’s lawyer in a statement last night said: “Our attention has been drawn to the publication by Punch Newspaper of March 7th 2016 to the effect that the sum of $1,000,000(One Million US Dollars) cash was recovered in the house of Air Chief Marshal A.S Badeh (Rtd). “The said publication is not only malicious but wicked. It is totally false and smacks of media campaign of calumny against the person of Air Marshal Alex. A Badeh (Rtd).”
Read more: https://www.naij.com/756403-alex-badeh-say-1million-found-home-efcc.html

The Parable Of Lion, By Tolu Ogunlesi

Editor’s note: A recent occurrence in which a lion escaped from the Jos wildlife park and was subsequently shot dead had mildly entertained Nigerians. Tolu Ogunlesi turns the case into an allegory.
Once upon a time, in a wildlife park in the mountain-belt of WondaWondaLand, lived a Lion. A big, old, statesmanly Lion. One day, bored stiff of living in captivity, it decided to step out and see the outside world. It was the biggest mistake of its life. And the final one.
The Ogas-At-The-Top whose job it was to ensure that the Lion spent its allotted days in its allotted space, put out a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” notice upon the Lion’s head.
It didn’t take too long. The Lion, unfamiliar with freedom, was swiftly cornered. The Lion temporarily forgot that this was WondaWondaLand, where escapee lions are rounded up, not with tranquilizer guns but with rusting Kalashnikovs.
The bullets dropped like oversized full-stops on the opened page of the Lion’s life. The end. The rumour mills of WondaWondaLand – the only factories in the land that do not require electricity to function at full capacity – creaked into life. Someone suggested that there was indeed a tranquilizer gun, but it was locked up in the “not-on-seat” Park Director’s Office. Some people swore that no sooner had the Lion fallen than wild-eyed locals descended upon the carcass, determined to turn a fearsome beast into an awesome feast.
Some people had photos to back up this theory, but at the time of going to press no one had confirmed that the photo was not swiped off Google Images’ cache of “20 Weirdest Photos You’ve Never Seen!” Still, other people insisted the Lion had been in captivity since the 1970s, even though experience teaches that Lions like him do not live past fifteen.
It’s sad enough that we might never know the real truth about the Lion. But there’s even sadder stuff. Not once, in all of the news that travelled the land, was the Lion credited with an actual, proper name. Everyone referred to him as “the lion” or “the Jos lion”. Or – shudder! – “the escaped lion”. Sigh. Even in Zimbabwe, the lions have got names.
There are those who say it was the Lion’s fault. Why did he succumb to the temptation of leaving the park? Why did it leave the absolute safety of captivity for the absolute lawlessness of freedom? Perhaps they are right. But let’s remember what happened to the WondaWondaLand Lion who stayed put. It happened in the Wild Wild Western city of Ibadan, many years ago. That Lion stayed put. Behaved sensibly and responsibly. Waited for its food to come to it, day in day out, entertained the guests who strolled past.
And then the Prophet decided to show up. The Prophet was not exactly the most normal of persons. His was one book short of a complete Bible; one vision short of a comprehensible Revelation.
The Prophet entered the Lion’s den, perhaps fancying himself a modern-day Daniel. Perhaps he heard voices. Whatever it was, he climbed the wire-fence and dropped into the den. The perplexed Lion rubbed his eyes to be sure it wasn’t the contact lens messing with him. Long story short, in the scene that followed, Preacher Man lay dead in the dust. He was no Daniel, it turned out. But at least the Lion had helped hasten his reuniting with the original Dan.
It would turn out to be the Lion’s final act. For taking the life of a man who offered it to him, his own was demanded, and taken, even though he had not offered it. The Lion died.
There was a third Lion. Maybe not. We really don’t know. One May Day in 2014, the rumour mills again threw up something about an escaped Lion. This time in the south-eastern WondaWondaLand city of Owerri. Not any ordinary Lion, but a “hungry” one. The town went berserk: offices and shops closed hurriedly, parents fell over one another to whisk their kids out of school. The police swung into action. When they emerged, they had in their dreaded custody someone they called an “alarmist” – the man alleged to have started the rumour.
We don’t know if there was really a Lion, or if it had indeed contemplated fleeing the Zoo (the story doesn’t say). What we do know is that an entire town came to believe that a Hungry Lion had ruined their entire day. You can bet that only a handful of people ever heard the rest of the story – that this was a case of an innocent Lion falsely accused.
Moral of the story: a tragic fate awaits WondaWondaLand’s lions, in or out of captivity. Stay put and you’re damned, get out and you’re still damned. And that’s only half the story. Somewhere in WondaWondaLand it occurred to someone with a philosophical bent that those lions were the perfect metaphor for the lives of WondaWondaLandas.
You see, life, for these harassed masses, is no different than for the hapless manes. Stay put and you’re damned, escape abroad (to Poundland or Trumpland or the Zumalopolis, or anywhere else), and you’re still damned, a second-class exile in the first world, homesick for a country that can’t tell the difference between AK-47s and tranquilizer guns.

Six-year-old girl beats the odds after being born with her heart outside her chest

Virsaviya Borun, a native of Russia who moved to South Florida with her mother, suffered from a rare condition - called Pantalogy of Cantrell- that caused her heart and intestines to form outside of her body. Her heart is protected only by a thin layer of skin.

“When I was pregnant, the doctor said she will not survive, that she is going to die,” Dari Borun, the girl’s mother, said.

The remarkable girl defied the odds set against her and lives, for the most part, like any other girl.
"I like to draw Jesus, ponies and angels,” Virsaviya said. “I don't go to the school and I don't go to the ballet but I want to do it at home.
Borun said she found a surgeon in Boston able to treat her daughter, but the cost prevents her from pursuing it.

“It's gonna be expensive for sure and I tried to work with social worker and she said we don't have opportunity to apply for insurance,” she said. 

An NBC 6 story on Borun and her inspiring little girl was shared millions of times following its intial airing, prompting many throughout their community to reach out and help.
An anonymous donor even reached out to the station and offered to cover the remainder of Virsaviya’s fundraising goal.

“I don't have a family here. It's just me and Virsaviya, but now I feel like I have a family because a lot of people just caring about us. They love us. They want to help,” Borun said. 

Though funds are being raised to help the girl receive treatment, she is currently unable to undergo surgery.

“She can't get it because of her high blood pressure and pulmonary arteries. So if it goes down, if she will feel better, they're going to check her in two years,” Borun explained.

At the moment, the mother is concerned with covering basic treatment as well as living expenses for herself and her daughter.
Despite the challenges, Virsaviya said it’s the heart that keeps her and her mother going.
“My mom always told me that she loves my heart and I really like it,” she said.

Oil thieves jailed for 84 yrs

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday convicted seven men to 84 years imprisonment for illegal and unlawful dealing in 1,459 metric tonnes of petrol. The court sentenced each of the convicts to a jail term of 12 years each starting Friday after they were all found guilty of the five count charge preferred against them.
The convicts are; Adedamola Ogungbayi; Olaniran Olabode; Suraju Gasali; Moses Emmanuel; Wilson Bonsi; Okaraodi Uche and Onyeogo Happy. Apart from the jail term, Justice Abang also  ordered the forfeiture of the vessel, ‘MT Good Success’, used by the convicts in stealing the said petroleum product, as well as the recovered petroleum product to the Federal Government.

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the sums of N66.6m and $975,000 which belonged to the convicts’ company, Hepa Global Energy Limited, domiciled with the First City Monument Bank to the Federal Government.
The convicts, were arraigned alongside their vessel and company on August 28, 2014 on five counts alongside one Padoun Jacob, who was discharged and acquitted by the court. The judge, in setting Jacob free on all the five counts, described him as a desperate job seeker, who became a victim of circumstances.


Vanguard

BABA JANG DN KILL PWAJOK OOOOOOOH....................RIP SIR

Senator Gyang Nyam Pwajok, the Plateau State PDP gubernatorial candidate in the last election has died. He died this morning in India after a battle with kidney disease.

Pwajok fought a close battle in the April governorship election, losing to the eventual winner and now governor, Simon Lalong. Olisa Metuh has confirmed his passing! May his soul rest in peace.

Win N1million in 15 seconds competition ends in 5 days...

They say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Play Entertainment Network is here to inspire a young entrepreneur by providing him / her means to take that ‘first step’ in starting and growing a successful business.

We are aware that raising start-up funds is one of the most challenging aspects of starting a new business. We are here to strengthen your motivation and desire to succeed by offering 1,000,000 naira business grant to a young entrepreneur with the best business idea. 

All you need to do is pitch it to a team of judges in 15 seconds. Yes 15 seconds. 

You must not necessarily have a grand proposal with an intricate business plan; a small lucrative idea that addresses a real and demonstrated public need is what we are looking for. We all hustle to get to the next level. Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.”

 HOW TO CONTEST;

1.      Follow @playnetworknigeria on instagram

2.      Make a 15seconds instagram video summarizing your business plan

3.      Post the video on your own instagram page with the hash tag *bethebossin15seconds* and tag @playnetworknigeria

4.      Your video will be reposted on @playnetworknigeriainstagram page and you will be tagged.

5.      If your video (business summary) makes the top 5 videos with 1) Valuable Content 2) reasonable number of likes (not "paid or driven" likes), 3) positive comments, you will be invited to Abuja to meet with the judges

6.      If you’re invited to Abuja you will be giving the opportunity to explain in detail your business plan, and if yours is the best you’re taking the 1,000,000 naira home.

‎PS: If you do not live in Abuja and you are short listed Transport and accommodation will be provided for you.

Buhari addresses the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit, takes group photo with other leaders

President Buhari today addressed the audience at the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit at the Indra Gandhi Stadium Complex, New Delhi, India. He and other #IAFS leaders also took a group photo at the Complex. See more pictures after the cut...

Read more »