By Emmanuel Ogebe

In part one I gave the historic context of how the heroic trifecta of CNN media proof-of-life expose’, the dramatic escape of Chibok girl Amina Ali and global #bbog activism led to the first mass freed girls in 2016 and not the CIA. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/TAjzbN4hN3Hixx33/?mibextid=WC7FNe

In part two, I will show from the book itself 10 reasons why claims that the CIA rescued 30 Chibok girls are not credible.

According to the book “The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA” by Liza Mundy:

1. “276 female students had been kidnapped from a Christian boarding school in Chibok”

One thing universally known about the school is that it was a “Government Girls Secondary School.” It literally says so on the name! It was not a “Christian boarding school.” In fact the US government at the time was intentionally denying the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. How is it possible that the CIA which publishes a world acclaimed fact file got a notorious fact that even Wikipedia reports correctly so wrong?

2. “Boko Haram at that time was an ad hoc and strident boys’ club, a homegrown group of religious extremists opposed to literacy and schooling.” How could the CIA describe Boko Haram as an “ad hoc boys club” after it had bombed the United Nations in Abuja in 2011 and just been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the US government in 2013 pursuant to my advocacy? How could it be “homegrown” when allied with global jihadists such as Alqaeda, Alshaabab, Al Nusra?

3. “In late 2016, Boko Haram franchised with ISIS…making it a legitimate target for a counterterrorism mission. The group was in a godforsaken section of north Nigeria; there was a single CIA case officer in the region, but he needed a team, and that’s where Molly came in. Molly was sent to a very poor region near Lake Chad, where residents subsisted on farming and fishing… Maiduguri, her destination, was a tiny city— mostly slums—-near the Sambisa Forest.”

Anyone with a knowledge of Northern Nigeria would be shocked at this description of the largest city in the northeast. Or anyone with google maps aerial view. 

In another bizarre claim, the book says Boko Haram only became a count terrorism threat in late 2016 when it merged with ISIS years after the Chibok abductions. Is the CIA truly saying there was only one case officer there all this time and President Obama lied when he announced a multi-disciplinary taskforce to find the girls in 2014?

4. “Her job was to set up a safe house..She found a compound with… no electricity, no running water, no computer system, no secure coms. Molly got one support officer, a woman, who helped set things up. Nobody took US dollars, so Molly had to find a money changer who wouldn’t rip her off.

She bought a generator, arranged for fuel deliveries.. She bought a car, tinted the windows herself, smoothing the tinting plastic with a Starbucks gift card.”

Again while poor electricity is a given in Nigeria, most cities like Maiduguri have compounds with boreholes providing water supply. The huge presence of international aid workers has created the largest foreign exchange market in the north outside the capital Abuja.

Most of the tasks could have been done by locals and did not require any specialist skill that risked the life of a CIA officer. Using a Starbucks gift card to tint a car’s windows was interesting as there’s no Starbucks in Nigeria. Molly had been on multiple deployments abroad likely in countries with no Starbucks either…

Besides, Nigerian police require a license to operate a vehicle with tinted glass.

5. “ In case of emergency, nobody would be coming to help her. Molly had a Glock 19 and thirty rounds of ammu-nition: twenty-nine for the enemy, and one for her…”

But more importantly, anyone with a basic understanding of Pax Americana knows that the USA does not leave US citizens behind willynilly. This year, I exclusively revealed that US military special ops rescued Americans and Canadians kidnapped by Fulani bandits in Kaduna just as they did Phil Walton in Sokoto in 2020. The very notion that the CIA would leave a single white female with an inadequate supply of ammunition in a terror hotspot is frankly unAmerican.

6. “Having set up the safe house for the support staff who would join the operation, Molly next had to penetrate Boko Haram. She cultivated an asset who told her that Abubakar Shekau—the head of Boko Haram— attended a mosque that looked “like stairs.” A team member from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency found a building with a “stair” shape footprint, using overhead imagery.” 

It is ludicrous that Shekau who released videos that painstakingly left no clues on his location except where he disclosed it was foolish enough to attend a particular and identifiable mosque.

Secondly he was in the Sambisa forest so how would a satellite have picked a mosque hidden in 518Km of forest?

7. “She had her targeter…a signals intelligence guy who listened to

Boko and ISIS West Africa intercepts. Working with the British and French, they hoped to get all the girls in one fell swoop, but some had been married off to fighters and were reluctant or unable to leave their babies, at least not right away. But they did get thirty at one time, and others, in ones and twos, trickling, terrified, from the thick forest, clutching the offspring of the men they’d been given to”.

First the book claims after ISIS merged with Boko Haram in late 2016 and became a counterterrorism priority, the CIA then set up shop shop to work with the British and French to rescue 30 girls.

However the fact is that 21 Chibok girls were released in October 2016 after months of painstaking planning in a prisoner exchange and ransom deal brokered by the Swiss and facilitated by the Red Cross. 

Therefore if the US only made this a CT priority after the ISWA franchise occured in late 2016, then the release of the 21 girls had already been consummated by the Swiss even before Molly was dispatched with 30 bullets, $100,000 and a Starbucks gift card to search for a safe house!

8. Similarly from above, it is stated that the rescue operation was based on communication intercepts. However the facts are that it was actually a release brokered by third party negotiators. Interestingly a component of President Obama’s announced multidisciplinary taskforce in 2014 included hostage negotiators but  the CIA story implies that was non-existent before them.

9. Another claim in addition to the imaginary 30 girls the CIA helped rescue, is that more girls were rescued on an individual basis.

It is one thing to try and claim credit for the work of Swiss interlocutors but it is truly a new low to take away from the courage of the girls who escaped themselves.

Amina Ali was the first to escape on her own with her baby in May 2016 before the safe house was ever conceived of and Maryam Ali Maiyanga in November next before it was established.

Therefore if there was any individual girl rescued during the takeoff of the CIA safe house, it would be in the period of 2017. However the only girl recorded recovered individually that year is Rakiya Gali Abubakar (January 5, 2017.)

By far the most cruel assertion to my mind in the book is the claim that some of the girls didn’t want to come back. Does the CIA really want parents to believe they met their captive daughters and had an opportunity to bring them back but left them there because the Chibok girls said they didn’t want to be rescued?

10. One final point is the complexity of international geopolitics. I had faulted Obama’s use of U.S. hostage negotiators given the U.S. notorious non-negotiation policy and preferred France given their success in freeing French captives (The Swiss were a good compromise.)So from both a military or negotiated standpoint, the U.S. simply did not play the role claimed in the girls’ rescues.

I appreciate that author Liza Mundy is giving voice to documents she’s accessed and interviews but probably obtained CIA clearances before publishing. She and The CIA itself should be the first to clarify this story because it does not acquit them credibly or creditably.

To be continued

Idris Okuneye’s (Bobrisky) six months jail sentence without the option of a fine by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court for Naira abuse, on Friday has continued to generate mixed reactions.

Many have described his sentence as most unfair and extreme adding that it amounts to persecution particularly as Wadume (Hamisu Bala), the Taraba kidnap for ransom kingpin got only two years. Recall that on 6th August 2019, a special operational team sent from Abuja arrested Wadume in Taraba State, handcuffed him and were driving toward Jalingo when they came under heavy bombardment from soldiers. In the process, four persons were killed on the spot while several others were injured. Those killed were Inspector Mark Ediale and two sergeants – Usman Danzumi and Dahiru Musa and a civilian by name of Jibrin. The soldiers then freed the handcuffed suspect, according to a statement by then police spokesperson, Frank Mba, who provided public updates on the matter.

Speaking on the judgment, Chidi Odinkalu, rights advocate and teacher of law said: “I am sure there are people who see this as law. I hope there remain some, no matter how few, who recognize this as lynching in the name of law. Those people should not give up. This is the kind of thing that makes the law lose legitimacy & respect.”

As the question about what exactly Bobrisky did and whether mutilation of naira is a financial crime continues to resound, Silas Onu, Abuja lawyer, and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Ebonyi South Senatorial candidate had this to say: “I wonder what law was used to prosecute for mutilation of Naira under the laws that EFCC can prosecute?”

It interesting to note that although Bobrisky has been sent off to 6 months in jail for spraying money in parties, Governor of Niger State Mohammed Umaru Bago who was captured in a video throwing (abusing) the Naira from a moving vehicle has not been indicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Likewise, a Nigerian lawmaker, Engr. Ibrahim Abuna from Borno state who was seen throwing money at his constituents in a viral video has not been invited by the EFCC.

Watch the video below.

Not a few top Nigerians including the children of former President Muhammadu Buhari have been captured in videos spraying cash. Shortly after their father completed his tenure at Aso Rock, they were seen spraying cash on a band during the celebration of his exit from the presidency. Senator Sani shared Mahdi Shehu’s tweet with the video on his official Twitter page.

According to a rights defender Mbami Iliya Sabka in a statement, “The recent conviction of Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, is a clear manifestation of political blackmail and bullying targeting individuals based on their gender identity.”

Continuing, Sabka in statement said: “As a human rights defender, I vehemently denounce this selective justice, which serves to further marginalize transwomen in Nigeria.

“The charges against Bobrisky for money mutilation are disproportionate and highlight a systemic issue of discriminatory treatment within the legal system. It is evident that similar offenses occur regularly during political campaigns, ceremonies and even places of worships without such harsh repercussions.

“Furthermore, the decision to incarcerate Bobrisky in a male custodial center raises serious concerns about the safety and well-being of transgender individuals within the Nigerian correctional system. The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) must urgently implement measures to protect the rights of transgender inmates and ensure their accommodation aligns with their gender identity.

“I call upon the Governor of Lagos State to intervene in this matter and grant pardon to Bobrisky, acknowledging the unjust nature of her conviction and the need for equitable treatment under the law. It is time to end the persecution of transgender individuals and uphold their fundamental human rights.

“Regarding Bobrisky’s admission of being male during court proceedings, it is essential to recognize the complexities of gender identity and the societal pressures faced by individuals like her. Rather than using this as a basis for further discrimination, we must strive for greater understanding and acceptance of transgender individuals in Nigerian society.

“In conclusion, I urge all stakeholders to join hands in promoting inclusivity and equality for all, regardless of gender identity or expression. The fight for justice and human rights knows no bounds, and together, we can build a more just and equitable society for everyone.

“Signed: Mbami Iliya Sabka
Human Rights Defender.”

Bobrisky was arraigned on Friday, April 5, 2024 on a four-count charge bordering on mutilation of the Naira notes to the tune of N490, 000, 00 (Four Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira).

Count one reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, on the 24th day of March, 2024, at Imax Circle Mal, Jakande, Lekki, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with the total sum of N400,000.00 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

Another count reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, between July and August, 2023 at Aja Junction, Ikorodu, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with the sum N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.

In 2023, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos ordered the remand and eventually sentenced Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, a 31-year-old Nigerian actress to six months imprisonment for spraying and stepping on the new Naira notes at a social event in Lagos.

A Nigerian dancer, Anita Obidi, popularly known as Korra Obidi, has been attacked with a knife and acid in the United Kingdom.

Celebrities Kimora Lee Simmons’s 21-year-old daughter Aoki breaks up with 65-year-old boyfriend
According to the dancer, the attack occurred while she was in the middle of a live stream on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

She disclosed this in a video posted on her Instagram account some minutes ago.

“My face is burning, can I have some coke to wash it please,” Obidi screamed as she groaned in pain.

The livestream footage reportedly showed Korra Obidi in distress, frantically washing her face with a Coca-Cola beverage, likely to neutralize the burning sensation of an acid attack.

Two uniformed officers arrived at the scene, captured on video. One officer applied a liquid solution to her face, presumably to ease the pain. The other officer can be seen spraying her back, likely administering first aid.

In a caption accompanying the disturbing video, Obidi pleaded with the public for any information that could identify and apprehend her attacker.

Describing the assailant, Obidi stated it was a Black female of approximately five feet in height. She further revealed she had been subjected to hateful comments online in the past, but this physical assault serves as a stark wake-up call.

“Currently in an ambulance to the hospital, there was a knife, acid attack on me in the UK 🇬🇧 in the middle of a live stream.

“There’s been a lot of hate in the past but this physical assault is a wake up call.

“If you have any information as to the attacker, black female. 5 foot. please forward to [email protected],” she wrote.

Credits: Vanguard

• Says indigenous ethnic nationalities should define their friends, enemies
• Seek ban on nomadic cattle rearing
• Demand new constitution, ask Tinubu to appoint special investigator to probe killings
• Says indigenous ethnic nationalities should sit to renegotiate Nigeria

A league of statesmen in Nigeria under the umbrella of National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) on Thursday blamed foreign invaders masquerading as religious extremists for the spate of killings and bloodshed in the country.

The organisation which membership comprises renowned technocrats and cuts across VIPs from different sectors said indigenous ethnic nationalities have the same and common enemy in the foreign invaders.

NCEF also told President Bola Tinubu to implement the report of the 2014 National Conference without any further delay, while there should be an immediate ban on nomadic cattle rearing and abolishment of RUGA project.

NCEF wondered why the present administration have not dismantled terrorists, even though the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari failed to act.

The Chairman of the forum and former Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Dr. Samuel Gani and Secretary, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, at a press conference, called on the indigenous ethnic nationalities to come together to renegotiate Nigeria.

Details Below…

PRESS CONFERENCE STATE OF THE NATION: RACIAL DISPLACEMENT INVASION

Distinguished members of the Press, and fellow citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we welcome you to this Press Conference. We thank you for joining us as we deliberate on crucial issues that concern our country. It is our hope that the government and people of Nigeria shall consider the issues we shall raise in this conference.

National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) wishes to commence this Press Conference by expressing heartfelt condolences to our compatriots who were bereaved of their loved ones in various fatal incidents. We remember a distinguished member of the NCEF, Elder Shyngle Wigwe, whose children died in a fatal helicopter crash in USA. We also remember our fellow Christians who were brutally murdered by Islamist insurgents in the Northern parts of the country. Worthy of mention are the
Nigerians killed by kidnappers and those felled in various avoidable death occurrences. May the departed souls rest in peace and may God comfort and strengthen the families they left behind.

As we mourn those who have died, particularly those murdered by religious insurgents, we urge the living to consider that the same threat is hanging over the heads of the survivors, if government does not attach seriousness to the activities of terrorists in the country. The problem facing Nigeria is a complex one and it is evident that we are facing an organized invasion by foreign forces masquerading as religious extremists. Nigeria is facing a racial and cultural domination agenda disguised as religious intolerance. In addition to the wanton murder of announced that they have selected Nigeria as food hub for OIC member nations. This announcement was made without prior discussion with the ethnic nationalities that own the land, and without the consent of State Governors who statutorily control allocation of land in the country.

In Plateau and Kaduna states, data exists that hundreds of villages of the ethnic nationalities have been taken over by foreign Fulanis. The owners of the land have been driven into IDP camps while the names of the villages have been changed to Fulani names. In Plateau state, over 102 villages were reportedly taken over by Fulani invaders while in Kaduna state, over 109 villages have been dislodged. The owners of the land are in IDP camps. Recently, a community leader in the Niger Delta, Mr. Asari Dokubo, posted in a video clip that thousands of Fulanis have entered the country and they have taken over villages in Bayelsa and Rivers state. He raised alarm that a displacement invasion is ongoing. Similar reports
have been made in Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, and in other parts of the country.

The recent visit of Hamas terrorists to Nigeria, bearing in mind that Hamas is not the government of Palestine, neither does it represent the Palestinian people in any legislative capacity, also raises concern about government’s commitment to fighting terrorism. Shortly after the abduction of 287 secondary school children in Kuriga, Kaduna State, a security expert, Dr. Kabiru Adamu, stated on Arise TV that the location of the camps of the bandits was known to government four years ago. Even if the Buhari administration failed to act, what stopped the Tinubu administration from dismantling the camps of the terrorists?

NCEF is calling on the indigenous Muslims in Nigeria to calmly examine these issues and take positions that will be in the long-term best interest of their ethnic groups. What is going on is more than religion. For hundreds of years, before the Europeans started slave trade in Africa, the Arabs have been preying on black Africans as slave market. The Arabic word “abeed” refers to a black African, as well as to a slave. The late Osama bin Laden shed more light on the Arabic word “abeed” in an interview in his lifetime when he said, “this is why whenever an Arab looks at a black African, what he sees is a slave.” This word, “abeed”, has not been expunged from the Arabic language.

This is the time for the indigenous ethnic nationalities to carefully define their friends and foes. The amount of blood that has been shed in Nigeria, involving indigenous Christians, Muslims, and traditionalists, prove that the indigenous ethnic nationalities have the same enemy. That enemy is a foreign invader. The killings going on in Nigeria were not motivated by the indigenous ethnic nationalities. Unfortunately, some of the local actors were manipulated into thinking they were pursuing a religious agenda, but the puppet masters have no religious goal in view.

It is all about racial displacement. In view of the foregoing, National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF), wishes to recommend as follows:

1. The Report of the 2014 National Conference, which included a draft new Constitution for Nigeria, should be implemented without any further delay. NCEF joins its voice with that of the eminent
   Nigerians in the Patriots Group, that held a Conference on 18th March 2024, calling for a new Constitution for Nigeria. The perennial amendment of the Constitution by the National Assembly should cease, and the legislators should start work on a new Constitution for Nigeria. After five alterations to the Constitution, without any significant positive impact on the country, the National Assembly should commence work immediately on adopting the report of the 2014 National
   Conference with its draft Constitution.
2. There should be an immediate ban on nomadic cattle rearing. Cattle owners should be compelled to set up ranches at their own expense as business entrepreneurs. It should not be the responsibility of the government to fund one enterprise at the expense of other businesses in the country. After all, when the cattle are sold, the proceed is not handed over to the government.
3. The RUGA project should be abolished. In the first instance, the Federal Government has no statutory right to allocate land in Nigeria under the Land Use Act. This is the responsibility of the States. Any business investor that requires land should apply for land like other citizens. Preferential treatment should not be accorded any group in Nigeria.
4. The ethnic nationalities should assert their right and ownership over their ancestral land and assert the dominion of their thrones in Nigeria.
5. The ethnic socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Arewa Consultative Group, Middle Belt Forum, and PANDEF should consider these issues in greater detail. Nigerians
   have no problem with each other. It is external forces that are seeking to tear the country apart for hostile takeover of the land and its resources. The demand for devolution of power should be
   intensified by the ethnic nationalities.
6. President Tinubu should set forth his agenda for Nigeria instead of following in the infamous footsteps of his predecessor whose tenure brought only grief and penury to Nigerians.
7. NCEF wishes to reiterate its earlier recommendation that President Tinubu should appoint a Special Investigator to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into the causes, as well as expose the actors,
   in the various acts of terrorism and religious insurgency that overwhelmed Nigeria since 2009.

The purpose of this Press Conference is to awaken Nigerians to the reality of foreign invasion against the country. Nigeria is facing racial displacement invasion. It is this foreign invasion that is responsible for
the insecurity in Nigeria and compromise of the delicate political balance in the country. While every Nigerian is free, according to Section 38 (1) of the Constitution to express his/her religious conviction, citizens must be careful not to jeopardize National Security under misguided religious fervour.

God bless Nigeria.
Dr Samuel D. Gani
Chairman
National Christian Elders Forum
11th April 2024

NECF MEMBERS

Dr. Samuel Danjuma Gani, CON, Chairman, Dr. Saleh Hussaini, Vice Chairman (North), Elder Shyngle
Wigwe, Vice Chairman (South), Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, Hon. Treasurer, Prof. Joseph Otubu, Dr. (Mrs)
Kate Okparaeke, Dr. Ayo Abifarin, Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), Hon. Justice James Ogebe, JSC (rtd), Elder
Moses Ihonde, Hon. Justice Kalajine Anigbogu (rtd), Elder Nat Okoro, Mr. Solomon Asemota, SAN, Elder
Matthew Owojaiye, DIG P. L. Dabup, Sir John W. Bagu, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Dame Priscilla Kuye, Prof. (Mrs) Deborah Enilo Ajakaiye, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, Dr. Taiwo Idemudia (Diaspora), Elder Minso Gadzama, Apostle Bulus Musa Kewa, Admiral Peter Adeniyi (Rtd), Hon. Justice Goddy Anunihu (Rtd.), Chief Sir Ferdinand Anikwe PhD, KSJI, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel (Secretary)

Former American footballer who was controversially acquitted of double murder, OJ Simpson, has died aged 76.

Orenthal James Simpson who was acquitted of the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and a friend in n 1995, in a trial that gripped America, rose to fame as a college footballer before playing in the NFL.

In 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment on charges of armed robbery. He was released in 2017.

Simpson died of cancer on Wednesday “surrounded by his children and grandchildren”, a family statement read.

In 1994, Simpson was arrested as a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

The pair were found stabbed to death outside Brown’s home in Los Angeles, and Simpson was an immediate person of interest in the case.

On the day he was due to turn himself in, Simpson fled in his white Ford Bronco with a former teammate, and led the police on a slow-speed chase through the Los Angeles area.

That chase engrossed audiences in both the United States and abroad as it was broadcast live on “rolling” 24-hour news channels that were still in their relative infancy.

In the ensuing court case, dubbed the “trial of the century” by US media, prosecutors argued Simpson had killed Brown in a jealous fury. Evidence included blood, hair and fibre tests linking Simpson to the murders.

The defence argued Simpson was framed by police who were motivated by racism.

In one of the trial’s most memorable moments, prosecutors asked Simpson to wear a pair of blood-stained gloves allegedly found at the scene of the murder, but Simpson struggled to put them on. It led to one of Simpson’s lawyers, Johnnie Cochrane, telling the jury in his closing arguments: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

The jury ultimately sided with Simpson, who declared he was “absolutely 100% not guilty”. The acquittal proved hugely controversial.

The families of Ms Smith and Mr Goldman did not give up – they pursued a civil case against Simpson in 1997 where a jury found Simpson liable for the two deaths. He was ordered to pay $33.5m (£25.8m) in damages to their families.

In 2006, Simpson sold a book manuscript, titled “If I Did It”, and a prospective TV interview, giving a “hypothetical” account of the murders he had always strenuously denied.

Public objections ended both projects, but Mr Goldman’s family secured the book rights, added material imputing guilt to Simpson and had it published.

Simpson’s final disgrace came in 2008, when he was convicted of armed robbery for breaking into a Las Vegas hotel room with four accomplices, holding two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint and stealing items related to his NFL career.

He was sentenced to 33 years in jail, but was granted parole after serving the minimum of nine years.

Before his legal problems, Simpson was well-liked, known as an athlete, actor and the face of several major companies.

He was a college football star at University of Southern California before being signed to the Buffalo Bills in 1969, where he played until 1977.

He became one of the greatest ball carriers in NFL history. In 1973, he was the first NFL player to “rush” – running to advance the ball for his team – more than 2,000 yards in a season.

He retired in 1979 to concentrate on a career in film and television.His credits include roles in the Towering Inferno, Capricorn One and the Naked Gun series.

Fred Goldman, Ronald’s father, described Simpson’s death on Thursday as “no great loss”.

“The only thing I have to say is it’s just further reminder of Ron being gone all these years,” he told the NBC News network. “It’s no great loss to the world. It’s a further reminder of Ron’s being gone.”

Culled from BBC

For looting one of the Vietnam’s largest banks over a period of 11 years, Vietnamese billionaire, Truong My Lan, has been sentenced to death.

It was the most spectacular trial ever held in Vietnam, befitting one of the greatest bank frauds the world has ever seen.

Truong My Lan was sentenced at the stately yellow portico of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 67-year-old Vietnamese property developer was sentenced to death on Thursday is one of very few women in Vietnam to be sentenced to death for a white collar crime.

According to BBC, the decision is a reflection of the dizzying scale of the fraud.

Truong My Lan was convicted of taking out $44 billion (£35 billion) in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank.

The verdict requires her to return $27 billion, a sum prosecutors said may never be retrieved. Some believe the death penalty is the court’s way of trying to encourage her to return some of the missing billions.

The habitually secretive communist authorities were uncharacteristically forthright about this case, going into minute detail for the media.

BBC reported that about 2,700 people were summoned to testify, while 10 state prosecutors and around 200 lawyers were involved.

The evidence was in 104 boxes weighing a total of six tonnes, while saying 85 defendants were tried with Truong My Lan, who denied the charges.

“There has never been a show trial like this, I think, in the communist era,” said David Brown, a retired US state department official with long experience in Vietnam. “There has certainly been nothing on this scale.”

The trial was the most dramatic chapter so far in the “Blazing Furnaces” anti-corruption campaign led by the Communist Party Secretary-General, Nguyen Phu Trong.

BBC

The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, has confirmed the death of Nollywood actor, John Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as Junior Pope.

Mr Rollas said it was initially believed Junior Pope survived the accident when slight movements of his fingers were noticed on Wednesday.

The late actor and three of his colleagues were coming back from a movie location in a boat when they fell into Anam River in Anambra State on Wednesday.

Rollas, who earlier on Wednesday said Junior Pope survived the accident, took to his Instagram page on Thursday to disclose the sad development as he wrote, “It is so so sad that our joy was short-lived.”

He added: “My first post was out of excitement when we noticed his tingling fingers. Two notable hospitals tried their best to revive him but to no avail.
“God knows the best. We finally lost him,

Friday’s corpse has been identified but three other corpses are yet to be found. ”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Junior Pope, in 2006, joined the Nollywood industry and started attending movie auditions and acting as a minor character in movies.

He usually played the role of a bodyguard, palace attendant, and servant in movies.

In 2007, he rose to fame after acting in the Nollywood blockbuster movie “Secret Adventures”, a movie directed by Tchidi Chikere.

He acted in more than 150 Nollywood movies which include: “Secret Adventures”, “Mad sex”, “Bitter Generation”, “Vengeance of Bullet”, “The Cat”, “The Generals”, “Wrong Initiation” among others.

In 2010, he won the award for Nollywood Most Promising Actor in Nigeria at the Entertainment Factory Awards.

He is known for acting criminal, villain, armed robber, militant and hitman roles in movies alongside Emma Ehumadu, Sylvester Madu, Zubby Michael, Jim Iyke, Alaso Wariboko, Gentle Jack, Hanks Anuku, Jerry Amilo.

Other awards he won include Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice (AMVC) Awards and Best Actor of the Year at the Africa Movie Academy (AMA) Awards among others.

NAN

Contrary to initial reports that Pope Obumneme Odonwodo drowned in the River Niger, the Nollywood actor, is said to be alive.

The movie star was earlier said to have fallen into the River Niger in Asaba, Delta state on his way to a movie location.It was gathered he was in the company of some other actors.“Yes. It happened at Asaba, River Niger. He had a fatal boat mishap. Unfortunately, he lost his life with four others that have not been identified yet,” Abubakar Yakubu, the national secretary of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), told TheCable Lifestyle on Wednesday.

A few hours later, Yakubu said the actor “is alive but in a coma”. He also disclosed that a medical team was called to resuscitate Pope.

According to the AGN secretary, the film star is currently in the hospital receiving treatment.

“Yes. He is alive. God has done it for us. He was in a coma all this while. Fortunately, when the medical team called, they said there is still life in him and they resuscitated him,” he said.

Presently he is in the hospital now. Receiving further treatment. I can confirm that he is alive.”

Pope earlier shared a video of himself on a boat on his way to the movie location.

“See me lamenting….The risk we take to entertain you; crossing river 9ja yesterday with no life jacket…. Na wahooooo Who does that ??” the actor captioned the Instagram post.