First photos from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's meeting in Germany

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump are holding the much-anticipated first meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. 

Both leaders ran into each other briefly in the morning before the summit started and they now holding a closed door bilateral meeting.

“President Putin and I have been discussing various things, and I think it's going very well,” Trump told the media during the photo session moments ago.

Really? People are claiming that a 70 year old gave birth to a baby after 7 years of pregnancy (photos&video)

According to Facebook user, Nikoro Efe, a lady who is over 70 years old, delivered a baby girl after being pregnant for 7 years. He wrote;

 "The lord has done a marvelous work again in her life , she is 70+ and she gave birth to a bouncing baby girl as her first issues, lord you are great , God promises to his children are concrete just believe in him and you will see his wondrous work in yur life at the appointed time" - More photos and video after the cut..

Nikoro Efe Terry

on Tuesday

The lord has done a marvelous work again in her life , she is 70+ and she gave birth to a bouncing baby girl as her first issues, lord you are great , God promises to his children are concrete just believe in him and you will see his wondrous work in yur life at the appointed time
#oluwaIsGreat
#TerrinikeMedia

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Judge Refuses To Return Former Governor Lamido’s Trial To Justice Ademola

by Ade Adesomoju, Abuja Jul 07, 2017

A judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Babatunde Quadri, on Friday dismissed an application by a former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, requesting that his (the ex-governor's) trial be returned to the former trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola.

Rejecting Lamido’s request in a ruling, Justice Quadri held that it would better serve the interest of justice and public peace not to return the case to Justice Ademola.
Justice Ademola, his wife, Olubowale, and Lamido’s lead counsel, Mr. Joe Agi(SAN), were jointly prosecuted before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory by the Federal Government but were exonerated of all the 18 counts preferred against them on April 5, 2017.
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, had re-assigned the case to Justice Quadri when Justice Ademola was on suspension as a result of the joint trial.
But following the judgment exonerating  Justice Ademola, the judge’s wife, and Agi, of the charges preferred against them, the lawyer had requested the Chief Judge to return the case to Justice Ademola.
Agi had anchored his request to the Chief Judge on the grounds that it would be agonizing for his Lamido and the other defendants to be subjected to the trial afresh when the prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had already called 18 witnesses before Justice Ademola’s court.
Ex-Gov. Sule Lamido Premium Times
But the EFCC had opposed the request insisting that with the joint trial which Justice Ademola and Agi underwent, the judge would likely be biased if the case was returned to him (Justice Ademola).
However, the Chief Judge upon considering both Agi’s and EFCC’s counter-requests insisted that the case should remain in Justice Quadri’s court.
Despite the Chief Judge’s directive, Agi filed a motion on April 26, 2017, seeking Justice Quadri’s order directing the return of the case to Justice Ademola.
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Blac Chyna seen kissing another guy (photo)

It could be an innocent kiss. Paparazzi has been following her around to see what she's up to and she's been giving them what to write about. See another photo after the cut...

Abiola Irele: Farewell To the Scholar Without Borders By Niyi Osundare

by Niyi Osundare Jul 06, 2017

When Serendipity conspires with Fate, the result is almost invariably a combination of astonishment and eye-popping bewilderment. This observation provides a painfully perfect script for my own ‘Irele narrative’, especially with regard to my interactions with this great scholar and generous enabler in what has now turned out to be his last few weeks on earth.

The immediate chapter of this narrative has to do with the dedication of my new book of poems If Only the Road Could Talk, just released in the United States by Africa World Press. In the over 15 years I worked on those poems, it never occurred to me that I was going to dedicate them to anybody. Nor did that thought ever cross my mind in the hectic months leading to the final editing and revision of the galleys. Then, one morning, I woke up with something close to a Eureka feeling: voila, I have found a worthy dedicatee for my new book and that person would be none other than Abiola Irele. That decision itself was both curious and complex; for I already had a piece written in his honour in the book of essays I was readying up for publication – an essay which had missed the chance to appear in The World in Africa & Africa in the World: Essays in Honor of Abiola Irele, a highly valuable festschrift edited with a characteristically comprehensive and provocative introduction by Biodun Jeyifo. In spite of all this, I woke up with that irrepressible urge to put Irele’s name in my new book’s dedication page. When I called Kassahun Checole, my publisher,  and revealed my new decision, I knew the manuscript was set and ready to go to the printer. But the Irele name did the magic. My publisher had the grace to wait for another two days, during which the following was born:
To Abiola Irele
Ageless Humanist
Scholar without borders
These seasoned offspring
Of Songs of the Marketplace Prof. Abiola Irele
My curious instinct had not run its course. Two weeks after the manuscript had gone to press, I did something that is absolutely out of my character and habit: I “leaked” the dedication to Professor Irele, thus sabotaging the pleasurable surprise I had planned for him upon a later discovery of the dedication in an already published book! Of course, Irele’s response was touchingly grateful. Weeks later, I kept wondering: why, considering the stated prevailing circumstances, did I undertake to pen a paean for Irele? And, even more perplexing, why did I make sure he read this ahead of its publication? Nothing could have told me about his imminent passing. The last time I saw him and Eka, his lovely wife, it was at the funeral  of another great scholar and humanist, Isidore Okpweho; and I still remember telling Professor Irele how fresh and well preserved he looked, and how eloquent his tribute to Okpewho was. Death, our insatiable foe, must have been laughing behind the curtain!
     I am sad Professor Irele didn’t see my new book before he passed away, but glad that he read my dedication and had a measure of the high regard in which I hold him, and the gratitude I owe him as a writer, scholar, and aburo. For, Irele’s New Horn Press was my first publisher. Unknown to many people, the very title of my first book of poems came from him. I had completed this collection of verses, christened it ‘I Sing of Change’, after one of the major poems within its cover, and started wondering which major publisher would be foolhardy enough to stake his investment on a timid, yet unknown novice, when the Irele ‘Angel’ walked in literally through the door.  ‘Niyi, I understand you have a new poetry manuscript; can I take a look at it? I’ve been reading your poems in West Africa, (the then highly influential  London-based newsmagazine) and I like them’.
     With much trepidation I handed him a bound copy of a collection called ‘I Sing of Change’, and he promised to get back to me in ‘about a week’. But the very next day, Professor Irele left a hand-written message on my office door, telling me the poems were ‘terrific’ and asking if I would let New Horn publish them. Of course, my answer was a resounding affirmative. Two days later, he announced with palpable enthusiasm, ‘I have a new title for your collection: ‘Songs of the Marketplace’. I think that sounds more intriguing, and it captures the essence of the entire collection’. That was it. That name stuck, and the moniker, ‘Poet of the Marketplace’ was born – with Irele as  Francis the Baptist. Thus, Irele was not only there at the beginning of my literary-creative journey; he was vitally instrumental in giving my fledgling dream a name, and shaping the trajectory of a life career. Any wonder then that If Only the Road, which arrived with my 70th year on earth, and over three decades since the initial Irele Magic, kept on insisting that it would not be complete without that dedication to the Spirit of the Beginning who gave voice and verve to the ‘hawker’s ditty’ in the marketplace of songs? No doubt the God of Gratitude has wondrous ways of communing with the Spirit of Serendipity. . . .
 Irele’s New Horn initiative predated my Marketplace experience. First on the New Horn Poets list was Harry Garuba, whose Shadows and Dreams (1982) struck the literary public with its poignant precocity and intensely engaging rendering. Following four years later was Conflicts, debut poetry collection by Mabel Segun, who had already made a name as one of Nigeria’s finest short story writers; and much, later, Poems of the Sea by Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, one of Africa’s most eloquent poets. Irele had an overriding passion: to discover, nurture, and promote a new crop of writers after the phenomenal achievements of the Achebe-Soyinka-Clark-Okigbo generation. The ‘New’ in his ‘Horn’ was both a statement and a promise; a literary journey and cultural investment, with a staunch hope in the future of African writing.
There goes Abiola Irele, the doer and enabler. Admirably cosmopolitan and  inspiringly literate, Irele was a man and scholar constantly re-inventing himself and his ideas, an ageless humanist with an astounding combination of youthful energy and the seasoned wisdom that comes with age. We will sorely miss his fertile, encyclopedic mind, his stupendous zest for life, his powerfully resonant voice, his infectious passion for music, wine, and enlightened company.           
       Niyi Osundare                 
Ibadan
July 6, 2017
(For Abiola Irele, 1936 – 2017)

Saraki’s Corruption Acquittal: Federal Govt Completes Record Transmission To The Court Of Appeal

by NTA News

The office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) yesterday completed the transmission of the record of proceedings at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to the Court of Appeal in Abuja in relation to the appeal it filed against the acquittal of Senate President Bukola Saraki by the CCT.

The record and briefs of argument to be filed by parties form what the Court of Appeal will consider and review in deciding the appeal filed by the AGF (on behalf of the Federal Government) against the CCT judgment of June 14.
It was learned yesterday that the transmission of the record started on Wednesday, but was completed yesterday, following which the Appeal Court entered the appeal on its list and allocated a number to it. The number is: CA/A/460/2017.
With the appeal now entered and number allocated, the appellant, by the Rules of the Court of Appeal, is to proceed to file its brief, serve on the respondent, who in turn, will file its response and serve the appellant (the process of briefs exchange), following which the court will fix a date for hearing of the appeal.
In a notice of appeal it filed on June 20, 2017, the appellant stated that the judgment “effectively” overruled previous decisions of the Court of Appeal delivered with respect to Saraki’s trial and other criminal cases.
“The judgment of the lower tribunal is unwarranted, unreasonable and against the weight of evidence,” the notice of appeal read in part.
The notice of appeal was signed by the lead prosecuting counsel,  Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), and an Assistant Chief State Counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Pius Akutah.
The appellant described the judgment as “unconstitutional and without jurisdiction.”
It stated that the CCT erred in law by upholding Saraki’s no-case submission “when the onus of proof” was on the Senate President to show “that there was no infraction in the Code of Conduct Forms.
The appellant argued that: “By the provisions of paragraphs 11 (2), (3) and (13) of Part 1, 5th Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), once the Code of Conduct form filled by the public officer is investigated and found to be false or that some assets are beyond the legitimate income of the public officer or that the assets were acquired by means of corrupt practices, the public officer concerned is deemed to have breached the Code of Conduct and it is for him to show to the Tribunal that there is no infraction in the form.
“The honorable tribunal wrongly placed the onus of proof on the prosecution contrary to paragraphs 11 (2), (3) and (13) of Part 1, 5th Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) clearly excluded the presumption of innocence on the allegation of infraction of the Code of Conduct by public officers and the Tribunal wrongly applied the presumption of innocence contrary to the constitutional requirement.
“The tribunal’s decision is unconstitutional and without jurisdiction.”
The appellant is praying the appellate court for “an order setting aside the ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal delivered on June 14, 2017 upholding the no-case submission raised by the respondent (Saraki) at the close of the prosecution’s case” and  “an order calling upon the respondent to enter his defence.”

So Sweet Annie Idibia accompanies her husband to her stepson's graduation (photos)

Annie Idibia accompanied her husband to the graduation ceremony of her stepson, Nino Idibia. Nino's mom, Sumbo Adeoye, was also present at the graduation. More photos after the cut.

Security Operatives Foil Suicide Bomb Attack At University of Maiduguri

Joint security operatives deployed to the University of Maiduguri, on Thursday, foiled an attempt by two male suicide bombers to wreak havoc at the institution. This was disclosed in a statement issued by Mr. Victor Isuku, spokesman of the Borno State Police Command.                  

According to the statement, the two suicide bombers were spotted at about 9.50pm along the parapet behind the university by the joint security operatives deployed to the university.
One of the suicide bombers, said the statement, was shot dead, while the second hurriedly detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped to his body, killing himself to avoid being captured alive.                       
A team from the Police Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) was subsequently drafted to sanitize the scene and its environs as well as ensure the return of normalcy.                  
The Borno State Police Command recently deployed a full unit of Police Military Force personnel as well as guard and sniffer dogs to the university to complement the security personnel presence there.
The move, added the statement, has begun to yield results, notably by preventing terrorists' attempts to inflict violence on the university and its environs.    
Terrorists have recently targeted the university, leaving behind a considerable number of casualties in deaths and injuries.

Man who lost half his face to melon-size cancerous tumour gets Terminator-style transplant built by genius surgeon (graphic photos)

A very good looking man had half his face destroyed by a melon-size cancerous tumour. A surgeon has now carried out reconstructive surgery on his face with skin taken from his thighs, and though his face is not back to normal, it is now more presentable and easier to look at.

Tim McGrath, 38, encountered what doctors called the "worse case scenario" after an operation to remove his Synovial Sarcoma tumour left him unable to eat or drink. For more than a year after the rare soft-tissue cancer was removed, Tim was left with exposed flesh on half of his face. Tim, from Michigan, USA, said he was left heartbroken to see half of his face was taken away following the surgery to remove the tumour. But a genius doctor has come to his aid by giving him a terminator-style face transplant. Doctor Kongkrit Chaiyasate had heard about Tim's plight and agreed to help him by reconstructing his face with skin from his leg and forearm. The reconstruction on his face will continue in 2018.

Tim said Dr. Chaiyasate gave him hope again after enduring more than one year of awkward stares and discomfort.

"I was covered in scars from previous surgeries which limited my options for reconstruction but we went ahead and the outcome has been incredible," Tim said. "He reconstructed my face using skin and muscle from my left leg, left forearm, and a flap from my forehead, and skin graphs were used to help the healing process. I currently can't drink liquid, eat through my mouth, or pronounce certain words, however, my quality of life has improved massively. There are people who stare at me, mostly children who don't understand, but I would hope that others look past what they can see.

"My journey has been long and mostly inconceivable to most, but I have an amazing support group around me and I draw strength from them daily. I have been through something horrific, but if what I've gone through can inspire people to live their lives with gratitude for the things they take for granted then it makes what I've gone through all worth it."

Tim was first diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma in February 2014 after complaining of severe jaw pain. An MRI revealed an egg-sized tumour. Tim refused surgery and spent the following 18 months seeking none surgical alternatives. Sadly, the type of cancer he had is resistant to many things, including chemotherapy, and the tumour only grew bigger till it got to the size of a melon.

He recalled: "At the end of May 2015 the tumour doubled in size and I had to have a tracheotomy fitted to enable me to breathe and a feeding tube so I could eat, because the tumour had invaded the space in my mouth. Heavy doses of radiation caused the tumour to start dying and shrink and parts started to fall off. Eventually, I got my mouth back and I could eat very thin pieces of food. After the tumour shrank and the radiation treatment was over I had to wait a few weeks before they could remove the remaining mass."

In October 2015, Tim was admitted to hospital where he remained for almost seven weeks following the initial 30-hour operation to remove and then reconstruct his face. He was shocked when he woke from surgery to find half his face gone. He became depressed, suffered numerous infection, and nearly gave up so many times until the top surgeon came to his aid. 

The doctor wants him to take a year off to relax and gain his strength back while the swelling from the surgery goes down. There will be another next winter which will further help his speech and will give him the ability to eat and drink again.

                                                                    Tim before the tumor

Senators can remove Magu from office only when Saraki is made acting president- Femi Falana says

Constitutional lawyer and Humanrights activist, says the only way the senate can remove acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, from office would be to wait until Senate President Bukola Saraki is made an acting president.

Falana in a statement released yesterday, described the attempts by the senators to enforce the removal of Magu as illegal. He called on the presidency to disregard every attempt by the senate to remove Magu.

"In view of the foregoing, the implementation of the resolution of the Senate on the removal of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman of the EFCC should be ignored by the Presidency on account of its apparent illegality. However, the distinguished senators who are desperate to institutionalize official corruption and impunity in the country by removing Mr. Magu from office may have to wait for the planned installation of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!”he said

Read the full text of his statement below...

Mr. Ibrahim Magu was appointed as Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in November 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The appointment was made by the President sequel to section 171 (1) of the Constitution. After Mr. Magu had acted in that capacity for over a year the Senate refused to confirm his appointment as the substantive Chairman of the EFCC. However, as President Buhari was satisfied with the performance of Mr. Magu he decided to retain him as the Acting Chairman of the EFCC. A couple of days ago, the Senate revisited the matter. In a rather bizarre move, the Senate decided to combine legislative powers with executive functions by passing a resolution which purportedly directed the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to remove Mr. Magu from the post of the Acting Chairman of the EFCC forthwith. The resolution of the Senate was alleged to have been anchored on section 2(3) of the EFCC Act which provides as follows: “The Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President and the appointment shall be subject to confirmation of the Senate.” Before passing its resolution the Senate ought to have known from the clear and unambiguous provision of section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act that the it has not been vested with the power to confirm or approve any person appointed by the President to hold office in an acting capacity. To that extent, the resolution of the Senate constitutes an affront to section 171 (1) of the Constitution which stipulates that: “Power to appoint persons to hold or act in the offices to which this section applies to remove persons so appointed from any such office shall vest in the President.” The offices involved are those Head of Service, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of extra ministerial departments of the Government. It is further submitted that Section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act relied upon Senate to justify the confirmation of the Chairman of the EFCC is inconsistent with section 171 (2) of the Constitution. Indeed, of all the positions listed in subsection 2 of the Constitution it is only in the appointments of ambassadors and high commissioners made by the President which require the confirmation of the Senate. See section 171(4) thereof. Since the EFCC is an extra ministerial department of the Federal Government the appointment of its Chairman does not require the confirmation of the Senate. In other words, section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act is inconsistent with section 171 (2) of the Constitution. To that extent, the resolution of the Senate based on the EFCC Act is an exercise in futility. Although neither the Presidency nor the Senate has deemed to seek interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Constitution from the Supreme Court the power of the President of the Republic to make certain appointments without the confirmation of the Senate had been challenged. In Festus Keyamo v The President & 4 Ors. (See www.premiumtimesng.com) the plaintiff challenged the appointment of service chiefs without the confirmation of the Senate. The trial court set aside the appointments as the power of the President to appoint service chiefs under section 218(2) of the Constitution is on the ground that the appointments were qualified by section 218(4)(b) thereof which provides that the National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the regulation of "the appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of the members of the armed forces of the Federation." As the Constitution has made the appointments of service chiefs subject to laws enacted by the National Assembly the court was on a terra firma when it ruled that the appointments so made required confirmation in line with the section 18 of the Armed Forces Act. But in the case of Ebun Adegboruwa v Attorney-general of the Federation (Unreported) Suit No:FHC/L/CS/1405/2012 the plaintiff had challenged the appointment of Colonel Hameed Ali (retd) as the Comptroller-General of Customs on the ground it was not made by President Buhari in consonance with a Federal Government Gazette of 1985. The Gazette in question had provided that a new Comptroller-General of Customs must be appointed from the pool of Deputy Comptrollers-General of Customs. In dismissing the action the Federal High Court (per Hassan J.) held that by the combined effect of sections 5 and 171 of the Constitution the provisions of the Gazette could not restrict or limit the powers of the President to appoint the Comptroller-General of Customs from outside the public service. In the same vein, it is crystal clear that section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act cannot subject the appointment of the chairman of the EFCC to Senate confirmation contrary to the provisions of section 171 of the Constitution. In view of the foregoing, the implementation of the resolution of the Senate on the removal of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the Acting Chairman of the EFCC should be ignored by the Presidency on account of its apparent illegality. However, the distinguished Senators who are desperate to institutionalize official corruption and impunity in the country by removing Mr. Magu from office may have to wait for the planned installation of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

THIS IS Photos: Bride and three others die in helicopter crash on the way to her wedding

Rosemere do Nascimento Silva, a 32-year-old bride, who planned to surprise her husband-to-be, Udirley Damasceno, by arriving at her wedding venue in a helicopter, sadly never made it to the altar. As her unsuspecting fiancé and other guests awaited the arrival of the bride, she and a few others boarded the helicopter to convey them to the wedding venue in the outskirts of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

When the helicopter did not arrive after a while as scheduled, one of the organizers who knew about this surprise made calls which led to the discovery that the helicopter had crashed just a mile from the venue, killing the bride, her brother, the pilot and also their photographer who was pregnant. The groom was said to have gone into shock after he was informed about the death of his bride by the pastor.

Cute photo of Lionel Messi, his wife and two sons

The legendary football star is pictured above with his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo and their two sons, four-year-old Thiago and Mateo, who will be two in September. They are currently on holiday in Rosario, Santa fe in Argentina.

Sad of the moment bride and brother were killed in helicopter crash on her wedding day

This is heartbreaking. The sad video showing how a bride and three others died in a helicopter crash on her wedding day has been shared online.

Rosemeire Nascimento da Silva had planned to surprise her groom Udirley Damasceno by arriving at her wedding venue in a helicopter Sadly, she did not make it to the venue. She died last December with her brother, her pregnant wedding photographer and the pilot, after the weather became foggy 21 minutes into the flight, thereby making it impossible for the pilot to see.

The video was recovered from the scene of the helicopter crash and it shows the fear on the faces of the bride and her brother as it became clear something was wrong.

As the video began, the bride can be seen holding on to her brother while looking out the windows at the fog. She and her brother looked at each other and smiled bravely. The pregnant photographer also gave a cheeky smile. They obviously thought the weather would get better.

When it only got worse, the bride and her brother became visibly agitated and clasped each other's palms. With time, they could no longer keep up the brave demeanour and the bride's face changed like she was about to cry.

In the midst of fog and clouds, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and became disoriented. The piercing cries of the bride and her brother are the last thing heard as the aircraft crashed just a mile from the wedding venue in São Lourenço da Serra, Greater São Paulo, Brazil

Human Rights Activist Festus Keyamo, Akinlolu Osinbajo, 28 Others Conferred With SAN

Mr. Akinlolu Osinbajo, a former Ogun State Attorney-General/Justice Commissioner and brother to acting President Yemi Osinbajo; human rights activist, Mr. Festus Keyamo; and Mr. Olusola Oke, Alliance for Democracy candidate in the last Ondo State governorship election, were among the 30 lawyers conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on Thursday.
The decision to confer them with the award was taken on Thursday at the 127th meeting of the Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee (LPPC), the conferring body, and announced at a press conference after the meeting by Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and LPPC Secretary, Mrs. Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha.
According to Mrs. Mustapha, the conferees will start wearing their new rank at a ceremony slated for 18 September. This raises the number lawyer conferred with the rank since inception in 1975 to 481.
Others conferred with the award include Mr. Kamorudeen Adeyemi Ajibade, Kwara State Attorney- General and Justice Commissioner; Professor Adedeji Olusegun Adekunle, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS); Mr Chiezonu Okpoko of the Federal Ministry of Justice and former Ogun State Education Mr. John Olusegun Odubela.
Also named are Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ajoke Bashorun (the only female on the list), Messrs. Chibuike Adindu Nwokeukwu, Johnnie Nnaemeka Egwuonwu, Bert Chukwuneta Igwilo, Sylvester Emenike Elema, Wilcox Achace Abereton, Francis Forum Egele, Enefiok Effiong Essien,  Saiq S. Shikyl, Adebambo Anthony Adewopo and Nasser Abdu Dangiri.              
Equally honored are Messrs. Emeka Peter Okpoko, Sani Hussani Garun-Gabbas, Abdul Atadoga Ibrahim, Gboyega Sanni Oyewole, Joshua Yusuf Musa, Ibrahim Sani Mohammed, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, Oyetola Oshobi, Sulaiman Usman and Kehinde Olamide Ogunwumijo.

NAF Helicopter Crashes In Borno State

---

by The Nation Newspaper Jul 06, 2017

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) confirmed on Thursday that one of its helicopters crashed into a pool of water in Maiduguri, Borno State.
However, no life was lost in the incident.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has constituted a panel of inquiry to unearth the cause of the incident.
A statement issued by NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, said members of the board of inquiry are already in Maiduguri to carry out their assignment on the crash which occurred in the early hours of Thursday.
The statement reads: “A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Agusta 109 Light Utility Helicopter has suffered a mishap while undertaking a liaison mission targeted at further enhancing the synergy between the Nigerian Army and the NAF in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation in the North East.
“The incident, which occurred today, 6 July 2017, was as a result of an airborne technical fault with the helicopter.
“The experienced NAF pilots, however, successfully ditched the helicopter into a pool of water to minimize damage and loss of lives.
“Consequently, there were neither any injuries nor loss of lives to anyone on board or on the ground.
“The Chief of the Air Staff has immediately directed the constitution of a board of inquiry to determine the exact cause of the incident while efforts are ongoing to recover the helicopter and members of the board are already in Maiduguri to commence work.

Federal High Court Refuses To Stop INEC On Melaye’s Recall

Embattled Senator Dino Melaye failed on Thursday in his bid to stop the ongoing recall process by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice John Tsoho in an ex-parte ruling rejected Melaye’s motion for a temporary injunction restraining INEC from proceeding with the recall process until the determination of suit challenging his recall.
Instead, the judge ordered parties in the case to “maintain status quo pending the hearing of the motion on notice.”
Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) argued Melaye’s ex-parte motion.
The judge adjourned till September 29 hearing of Melaye’s motion on notice and applications filed by three individuals, led by Chief Cornelius Olowo, who applied to be made parties in the suit.
In the main suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/587/2017, with INEC as the only defendant, Melaye faulted the recall process, saying it was tainted with political malice and initiated by his political enemies.
The Senator denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was being targeted for standing up for the oppressed in Kagi State and the many workers who have not been paid salaries by the state government.
Melaye is praying the court to declare the petition submitted to INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, as “illegal, unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, invalid, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.”
He also wants the court to void the recall process because it was commenced in breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing.

Nnamdi Kanu Threatens To Kill Obasanjo

Addressing elders and chieftains at his residence in Ibeku, Umuahia, Abia State on Thursday, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), said his organization would kill former President Olusegun Obasanjo if he attempts to harm the IPOB leader.
Mr. Kanu’s threat came after former President Obasanjo commented that Nigerians must do everything possible to stop the campaigning for the secession of Biafra, a cause spearheaded by Mr. Kanu.
The former president made the comment on Tuesday while speaking at the International Conference Centre in Abuja during the launch of the biography of the late Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari. He stressed that a failure to put an end to the Biafra agitation could lead to a repeat of the 1966 coup and the other events that eventually culminated in the civil war.
The Biafran agitator responded with a threat to the elder statesman.
“I remember Obasanjo calling us names. They said we must eliminate Kanu and for those words coming out from his mouth, he is going to die,” Mr. Kanu declared.
“I told Obasanjo that I have given instructions to IPOB should anything happen to me. Everything that comes from Obasanjo’s lineage will die the same day at the same time. It is a standing instruction to IPOB.
“Wherever they are, we will kill them ourselves at the same time, the same day, 12 noon, wherever we find them all over the world. I am not like anything they have seen before,” Mr. Kanu boasted.
IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu

Diezani’s $650m Bribe: Court Grants Ex-FCT Minister, Akinjide, Others Bail

Justice J. O. Abdul Malik of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, July 6, 2017 granted bail to a former Minister of FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, who is standing trial over N650 million allegedly collected during the 2015 general election.
Others granted bails alongside Akinjide are Senator Ayo Ademola Adeseun and Olanrewaju Otiti, both chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The defendants are being prosecuted on an amended 12-count charge bordering on money laundering.
At the sitting today, Akinjide’s counsel informed the court that they had a pending bail application praying the court to grant the defendant bail on self recognition.
The counsel further informed the court that they were at a stage of settlement with the EFCC.
Responding, Idris Abdullahi Mohammed, counsel to EFCC, told the court that they were not opposing the bail application as he confirmed the settlement move.
On the other hand, Adeseun’s counsel, Michael F. Lana, while praying the court to grant the second defendant bail on self recognition, observed that “Adeseun had served the society in different capacities as a Local Government Chairman in Oyo State, member of the House of Representatives and a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Abdullahi, however, disagreed saying, “Senator Adeseun cannot be trusted”.
According to him, “Adeseun is not a man of his words. After he was released on administrative bail by the EFCC, he refused to appear before the court to take his plea until he was rearrested and brought before this honorable court today".
Abdullahi, however, did not oppose Otiti’s application when his counsel, Adeniyi Ishola, urged the court to admit him to bail on liberal terms.
Justice Malik admitted Akinjide to bail on self recognition, while bail was granted to Adeseun and Otiti in the sum of N100 million each with one each surety in like sum. The sureties must have landed property within the jurisdiction of the court and must be directors in the public or civil service.
“All the defendants shall deposit their international passports with the Chief Registrar of the court. The 2nd and 3rd defendants are to be remanded in the EFCC custody pending the perfection of their bail conditions”, the judge added.
The case has been adjourned to September 12, 2017 for commencement of trial.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
July 6, 2017
Diezani Alison-Madueke

Biafra, Like Infinity, Is Elusive, Yet Enigmatic And Eternal By Churchill Okonkwo

In an interview with SaharaReporters, the newly crowned Lion King of Ndigbo, Chief Nnamdi Kanu, made a sudden 180-degree turn when he said that there is “no deadline for the actualization of Biafra.” This reversal of his previous position that Biafra is seconds away from being actualized indicates that the current fantasies on Biafra are colliding with practical and political realities on the ground. The admission also supports my thesis that Biafra is like the mathematical concept of infinity, elusive, yet enigmatic. I will support this assertion with analogies and examples.
One of the enigmas in mathematics is the concept of infinity. No matter the school age at which you are introduced to the infinity concept, it is incomprehensible to the mind. Infinity is a mystery, perhaps, too abstract and too far from reality that it could mean anything. In Beyond Infinity: An Expedition to the Outer Limits of Mathematics, Prof. Eugenia Cheng stated that if we’re not careful about exactly what we mean by “infinity,” then logic will take us to some very strange places that we didn’t intend to go.
Like infinity, people that are not exactly sure of what to make of Biafra have been coming up with strange characterizations. For example, Biafra has been turned into a metaphor for people that feel “discontent with the Nigerian Project.” It has also been characterized by Prof. Pat Utomi as “a catchall phrase for being unhappy.” As some point too, our very own Mr. Osita Okechukwu even pronounced Biafra dead.
To understand this enigma called Biafra, let us for a moment equate it to infinity. Infinity goes on forever, so Mr. Okechukwu must be wrong in pronouncing Biafra dead; it is older than Nigeria and therefore, cannot be for the people “discontent with Nigerian project”. Of course, it is bigger than anything we can think of and therefore cannot be the tiny enclave IPOB, MOSSOB and Co are attempting to confine it to.
Next logical step; let’s assume that infinity and by extension Biafra is a number. Mathematically, infinity plus one is still infinity. This is saying ∞ + 1 = ∞. This follows from the fact that if infinity is the biggest thing there is, then adding one can’t make it any bigger. Now, subtract infinity from both sides using the standard rules of cancellation will leave us with 1=0. This is a disaster in mathematics. Something has evidently gone wrong. What is it?
To understand what has gone wrong, we need to go back to the basic rules of mathematics. The equation was manipulated as if infinity was an ordinary number. But according to Prof. Cheng, infinity definitely isn’t an ordinary number. Subsequently, Biafra is not an ordinary entity that can be hijacked and used for personal aggrandizement.  The question though, remains; why is the “realization” of Biafra elusive? Is it a Spirit? If it is a Spirit, what does the Biafran Spirit look like?
Though I am not claiming to know it all, I know for certain that Biafra is like chi, in Igbo culture, a concept (according to Chinua Achebe) so central in Igbo psychology and yet so “elusive and enigmatic.” Like the Chi, Biafra is and may remain elusive in order to be eternal and enigmatic. So, while I may not know the whole truth about Biafra, I know that those who attempt to rebel, in an attempt to “realize” Biafra, by becoming nihilists fail to achieve authentic rebellion.
Remember Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart? His Chi agreed with him when he strived for prosperity. But the moment he chose to become arrogantly domineering, to the extent of killing Ikemefuna, he fell. He fell because his Chi disagreed with his actions. He walked before his godly guardian and therefore ran the race of his life to exile. Ojukwu was also made to run the race of his life to Ivory Coast. We know what happened to Uwazurike. Now, for Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB, the fantasies of Biafra is once more colliding with the realities. That is why he is admitting that there is “no deadline for the actualization of Biafra.” He is also beginning to sound like Uwazurike.
So, is the quest to “realize” Biafra a walk before our godly guardian? How can we really discover what Biafra is all about?
The journey to discovering the type of thing that makes sense of infinity, according to Prof. Cheng, took Mathematicians thousands of years. This discovery process involved some of the most important developments in mathematics such as set theory and calculus. The step to the discovery of Biafra should start with our acknowledgment that Biafra, like Chi, has been our guardian spirit from birth. It is only the enigmatic Biafran Spirt that could explain how a people crushed by the Civil War could rise from the ashes of defeat and once more reclaim an envious position in Nigeria. To remain enigmatic, all we need do is to discover, demonstrate and display this Biafran Spirit.
In math jargon, the Biafran Spirit is enigmatic, ranging from negative to positive infinity. The reason why it has remained elusive like infinity is for it to remain enigmatic and eternal. To really understand how the enigmatic Biafra Spirit is, you should attempt to internalize the concept of a circle not having a start-end point. Biafra is like a circle with infinite radius, an infinitely long line. It goes on forever. Is an attempt to actualize Biafra an attempt to truncate its radius?
There is another terrible thing Prof. Cheng said could happen to infinity if we think too hard about it: multiplying infinity by infinity will still give us infinity. That is ∞ x ∞ = ∞. Canceling out one infinity on each side, we get ∞ = 1. This is the worst outcome because an infinity that is supposed to be the biggest thing there is, should definitely not be equal to something as small as 1. Similarly, Biafra is humongous and should never be equated to 1. So, don’t think too hard about it.
The moral of the analogy for Biafra is that just like infinity, we have to be rather careful what we do with manipulating the enigmatic Biafran Spirit in order to avoid weird things happening. We should though completely disagree with the pronouncement of the death of Biafra or the misrepresentation of Biafra, my Biafra to unhappiness. So rather than being frightened that Biafra, will not be actualized now, I want you to be astonished that it will remain enigmatic and will defy space and time. Let Biafra continue to inspire mystery, bafflement, awe, and even skepticism.
I know that the mere thought of Biafra as an elusive concept makes your brain hurt. Don’t worry, we all felt the same way after being introduced to the concept of infinity in math. But once we rose above the psychological drama-trauma of the new concept, we figured out how to solve problems with infinity even without wrapping our brains around it completely. To remain enigmatic, Biafran separatists must rise above the drama-trauma of “Biafra or death”.  No matter how beautiful and well-crafted a coffin might look, it will not make anyone wish for death.
So, don’t hold the Biafran Spirit hostage or think too much about it. Just use it to advance your personal and collective goals across the breadth and width of Nigeria and the world. Elevate the “never say die” Biafran Spirit into a pragmatic politics.
The summary of this thesis written as directed by my Biafran Spirit is this: Biafra like God, which is Chi in Igbo Cosmology is unique, enigmatic and mysteriously eternal. Whether it is “actualized” or not, there will be no other concept of a physical or ideological nation on earth like it. Not one. Not now. Not ever.
You can email Churchill at churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @churchillnnobi.
Churchill Okonkwo