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In Prison, Orji Uzor Kalu Begins Another Chapter Of Life

By
Shalom Ekelaka
-
In Prison, Orji Uzor Kalu Begins Another Chapter Of Life

Orji Uzor Kalu’s descent from the Red Chamber of the National Assembly as a senator to a prisoner is certainly a turning point in President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption in the country.

Although it took about 12 years in coming, the shock was no less when it happened. Kalu has become the third ex-governor in the country to be jailed for corruption. But his was the most shocking.

If Kalu had an inkling of what judgment was coming his way last Thursday, he probably would have feigned illness. Like most politicians, he was confident that nothing untoward will happen.

After all, he now belongs to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where, he believed, he had met all the criteria for his sins to be forgiven and even forgotten.

He had joined the party from the opposition. He had also vilified his former colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at every opportunity. What’s more, he had won a ticket to the Senate on the platform of the APC. He was a political asset!

He must have been confident that he would be acquitted of the corruption case; and that the the court process was simply a formality, to send him home with the injunction to sin no more.

However, that was not to be as he was found guilty of corruption and handed the “Go to Jail Directly” card.

The shock for Kalu was sudden, shocking and devastating. He was heard pleading with correctional officers: “Please don’t handcuff me, I will cooperate with you.”

It was the rise and fall of an ultimate power broker. The descent of a larger than life man; from a former governor to a senator; and now, to a prisoner!

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos and presided by Justice Mohammed Idris found him guilty. The judge said Mr Kalu was guilty of the charges against. After the conviction, Kalu’s lawyers pleaded with the court for a favourable sentence.

Kalu has been facing trial for over a decade after he was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly carting away billions of naira belonging to the state while he served as Abia governor.

He was tried alongside his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Mr. Udeh Udeogu, who was the Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House during Kalu’s tenure as governor.

The Road to Perfidy

Although Kalu claimed that he started business at age 19 years and at 20 years, he was already a millionaire; this could not be ascertained. When he was barely 30 years, he had had brushes with the law. He was expelled from the University of Maiduguri for, as he claimed, activism.

But he gained notoriety when he allegedly donated cash to the Borno State Development Fund. Coming from a university drop out, the huge donation made the headlines, but the content of the box was later found out to contain blank papers neatly cut to size and covered with actual Naira notes. He was promptly arrested. Lke a Ninja, was able to explain himself out of the mess. By this time, he was already a known face in the nation’s business and political sphere. He began to hobnob with shakers and makers of the military, business and political hierarchy.

In 1999, at the age of 39 years, like a cat with nine lives, he came out from obscurity to win the Abia state governorship election to the consternation of many.

The Political Businessman

At the time he became governor on May 29, 1999, the new state had no state secretariat complex. Government businesses were conducted from rented apartments with civil servants squeezing themselves into buildings that were inadequate let alone comfortable.

Kalu took advantage of this to rent houses he hurriedly built for himself and others belonging to friends, family and cronies to the government at an exorbitant rate. Making fast money at the expense of a government in which he was the executive governor.

Throughout his eight years as governor, he never attempted to build a state secretariat even though land and monies were allocated for the purpose.

Education

That Kalu was expelled from the University of Maiduguri was no longer news. The news was how he gained a first degree from the Abia State University, Uturu; an act that could only have been imagined by a master storyteller.

As governor and visitor to the Abia State University, Kalu enrolled for his degree programme. Barely three years later, he was awarded a first-class degree without ever attending classes for one day!

What’s more, to justify the certificate he has just gotten on a platter of gold, Kalu compelled the university to award him an honorary doctorate to boot. Hence the appellation, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu that he bears today.

More than 14 years after the alleged graduation, nobody has called this certificate to question!

Revenue Allocation

Although, Kalu’s conviction for stealing over N7.7 billion came over 12 years after he was first arraigned, up to that time, the state was one of the poorest in the country.

The revenue to the state from Federal Allocation between 1999 and 2007 when he was governor was N180, 913,356,049.45. What this means is that the state was barely making over N22 billion yearly, yet almost N8 billion was stolen within the period.

With a population of 2,833, 999, and raked 14th in the states allocation index, he dealt the state the unkindest cut.

Personal Wealth and Business Venture

As Kalu entered the prisons to begin his 12 years sentence, he was said to be worth over $300 million, according to the American magazine, Forbes in its ranking of richest businesspeople in Africa

Kalu is the founder of Slok Holdings, a conglomerate with interests in shipping, banking, oil trading, manufacturing and the media. He claims to have started in business at age 19 after being expelled from the University of Maiduguri for spearheading a series of student riots.

He borrowed $35 from his mother and started trading commodities like palm oil, rice and sugar. He diversified into furniture manufacturing and transportation and became a millionaire by the time he was 20!

He later hit the big time in the early 80s when the Nigerian military government awarded him lucrative contracts to import and supply arms and ammunition to Nigeria’s military.

The Slok Group operates in all sectors of the economy, mainly focusing on Oil and Gas, Banking and Finance, Media and Publishing, Real Estate, Manufacturing, Trading, Insurance, and Tourism.

Politics

Following a fall out with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kalu founded the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). The party won gubernatorial elections in 2003 and 2007 in Abia state and also won the governorship election in neighbouring Imo State that same year.

In Abia, Kalu’s handpicked candidate, Chief Theodore Ahamefula Orji became the governor even though they later fell apart, while in Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim became the governor.

In the April 21, 2007 National Assembly election, the party won three of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives and one of the 109 seats in the Senate. This cemented Kalu’s leadership as force to reckon with in the politics of the nation.

Following the 2007 election, the PPA’s journey into oblivion began when the party agreed to join the PDP government of President Umar Musa Yar’Adua. For Kalu, the journey back to the PDP was like a homecoming as he was a two-term governor under the party, but for PPA, its death knell was just sounded.

The Journey to APC

But as the corruption case continued to dog him, the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 on an anti-corruption pledge forced the former governor to rethink his fortunes.

The EFCC renewed interest in his corruption cases, a situation which forced Kalu to abandon both PPA and the PDP for the APC. It was a classic case of a mother abandoning her child to nurture another person’s baby.

Senatorial Bid

The fact that he was standing corruption trial did not stop the former governor from returning to politics as he successfully contested a senatorial election under the APC and won.

He had in 2015 lost his bid to be elected senator. But he returned to win the Abia North senatorial election in February 2019. Kalu won with 30,580 votes while the closest opposition candidate from the PDP, Mao Ohuabunwa, who beat him in 2015 recorded 21,940 votes. He later emerged as the Senate Chief whip.

Orji Uzor Kalu’s Mother

In Nigeria’s political firmament, the prevailing scenario is that the wives of governors or political office holders gain notoriety by becoming the power behind the throne. In most cases, such ladies become the go-to-person if you want any favour from her husband.

But in the case of Abia state during Kalu’s reign, his mother took this bill, leaving his wife in the lurch.

Kalu’s mother, Mrs. Eunice Kalu was so powerful that she was called “Mother Excellency.” She even caused a rift between her son and then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Not surprisingly, the former governor believes his corruption ordeals stemmed from this rift with Obasanjo.

According to him, Obasanjo unleashed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on him and his mother because she refused to endorse an elongation of tenure for the president.

Kalu disclosed in an interview with a national newspaper that men in police uniform once stormed the Aba home of his mom in a bid to arrest her, but they were resisted by security men at the premises who denied them access to the house. They fired sporadic gunshots for over two hours and subsequently left. That was how powerful she was.

The Fall

After 12 years of standing trial, Kalu was eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison. As he was being led to the gallows, Kalu reportedly smiled at reporters and said, “2023, here we come” as he was led out of the courtroom by Correctional Services officials after his sentencing.

However, his steely behaviour soon gave way to reality as he begged the correctional officers, “please don’t handcuff me. I will follow you.”

QUOTE:

As the corruption case continued to dog him, the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 on an anti-corruption pledge forced the former governor to rethink his fortunes. The EFCC renewed interest in his corruption cases, a situation which forced Kalu to abandon both PPA and the PDP for the APC. It was a classic case of a mother abandoning her child to nurture another person’s baby.

Estate Electrician Stabs Maersk MD, Kills His Wife In Their Ikoyi Residence

By
Shalom Ekelaka
-
Estate Electrician Stabs Maersk MD, Kills His Wife In Their Ikoyi Residence

Two suspects, Ade Akanbi and Olamide Adegoke, have been arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command for attacking the Managing Director of Maersk Nigeria, Gildas Tohouo, and stabbing his wife, Bernadett, to death at the couple’s residence on No. 1 Luggard Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

It was learnt that the suspects also stabbed the man and forced him to drink a substance suspected to be acid.

While the corpse of the wife had been evacuated and deposited in the mortuary, the man is battling for his life in hospital.

It was learnt that the deceased was a Hungarian, while her husband is a Cameroonian.

According to findings, the condition of the Cameroonian remains critical.

One of the perpetrators of the crime, Adegoke, was said to be an electrician working with the estate, where the couple’s apartment is located.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the couple had organised a party in their house on Sunday and many invited guests were said to have gathered in the compound to felicitate with them.

Adegoke, who was said to be a familiar face in the estate, was granted access to the party.

He reportedly used his familiarity to smuggle his accomplice, Akanbi, in.

It was gathered that the party ended around 11.30pm and the guests departed for their various homes, but Adegoke and Akanbi were said to have lurked around the couple’s apartment.

Suddenly, there was a power outage in the building and the suspects allegedly offered to assist the couple to restore power.

According to a source, the couple recognised one of them as an electrician in the estate and access the door for them to gain entrance into the main building.

The source stated, “The electrician came with his friend and they were granted access based on the fact that Adegoke was a known face. Immediately the two suspects entered the building, they attacked the couple with knives. They locked the husband and wife in separate rooms and forced the wife to transfer some money to them and also collected her ATM card.

“Afterwards, the suspects stabbed the couple. The husband survived the attack and managed to call his company’s chief security officer, who alerted the police, but his wife was not lucky as she died on the spot after being suffocated with a pillow.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that a team of policemen, led by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, stormed the scene of the crime and arrested the suspects before they could escape.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, who confirmed the incident, said the suspects stabbed the man’s wife and suffocated her, adding that the husband also sustained injuries and had been taken to hospital.

Elkana stated, “The man is a Cameroonian and his wife was Hungarian. They hosted a party earlier on Sunday, and when the guests had left, there was a power outage. The electrician, who was also in attendance with an accomplice, was still in the compound during the outage.

“So, they knocked on the door and volunteered to help the couple fix their power problem. When the door was opened, the two suspects, Ade Akanbi and Olamide Adegoke, attacked the couple and stabbed the man and his wife.

“But the man survived, while his wife died due to the injuries she sustained from the attack.

“The suspects wanted to rob the couple and have been arrested. The knives used in perpetrating the crime have also been recovered.

“The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, mobilised personnel to the scene of the crime and arrested the suspects. Homicide detectives from the command have also cordoned off the area. Investigation is ongoing.”

Reacting to the incident, the Regional Managing Director, Africa, A. P. Moller-Maersk, David Williams, while commiserating with the bereaved family, said the couple’s three children of the couple were safe, adding that the company was working with relevant the authorities to investigate the incident.

He said, “We are very sorry to confirm that a colleague and his family were attacked in their residence in Lagos, Nigeria, during the evening of Sunday, December 8, 2019.

“Tragically, the wife of our colleague passed away at the scene. Our colleague is in hospital, where his condition is critical but stable. The three children are all safe and accounted for.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to the family. We will do whatever we can to support them in this tragedy.”

DSS Offered Sowore Death Penalty Deal – Falana Reveals Shocking Details

By
Shalom Ekelaka
-
DSS Offered Sowore Death Penalty Deal - Falana Reveals Shocking Details

Femi Falana, counsel to Omoyele Sowore, convener of RevolutionNow Movement, on Monday alleged that the Nigerian government offered the activist a “death warrant” deal while in custody of the Department of State Services, DSS.

Falana disclosed that the Nigerian government reached out for the deal during Sowore’s first 45 days in detention.

Featuring on TVC’s The View, Falana said: “They went to a court behind us and got an order to detain Sowore for 45 days to investigate his alleged terrorism.

“At the end of the investigation, nothing was found but they went to him in detention to reach a deal.”

The activist stated that the DSS also reached out to him so as to convince Sowore when they could not persuade the Sahara Reporters’s publisher to take the deal he was offered.

“When they could not succeed, they met me and they wanted me to persuade him to agree to sign his death warrant and I told them off,” he said.

Falana said the intelligence agency “filed charges” against Sowore when they could not convince him to take the deal.

Sowore and his co-defendant Olawale Bakare were accused of treasonable felony, cyberstalking and money laundering.

Sowore: US Warns Nigerians Against Anti-Democratic Actions

By
Shalom Ekelaka
-
Sowore: US Warns Nigerians Against Anti-Democratic Actions

Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), on Sunday, refuted the Department of State Services’ claim that its operatives did not disrupt proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in their bid to re-arrest his client, Mr Omoyele Sowore, on Friday.

Falana, in a statement, said contrary to the DSS’ denial issued on Saturday, the leader of the DSS team of operatives, who invaded the court, tendered an apology for their conduct when summoned after the incident by the presiding judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu.

Falana said this just as the United States expressed concern about the re-arrest of Sowore after a court had ordered his release.

The DSS had, on Saturday, said the circulation of a video clip on an attempt to re-arrest Sowore in the courtroom was a product of mischief.

The DSS Public Relations Officer, Dr Peter Afunnaya, in a statement said the video was meant to serve as propaganda to bring the service to disrepute.

He had said when Sowore stepped out of the court and sighted operatives of the service on the premises, he ran back into the courtroom.

He said, “In a bid to shield him from an imaginary arrest, his uncontrollable supporters mobbed him while chanting ‘you can’t arrest him’, thus the pandemonium that ensued.”

But on Sunday, Falana said the inability of the DSS operatives to defend their conduct prompted their subsequent apology to the judge, who was made to adjourn cases on her list following the invasion of her courtroom by the agency’s operatives.

He described the statement issued by the DSS spokesperson as “self-contradictory” and “an unsuccessful attempt to absolve the agency of responsibility for the invasion of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, in general, the desecration of the Court 7 presided by Justice Ojukwu in particular, as well as the illegal re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore.”

He stated, “By the advantage of information technology, the whole world has placed responsibility for the gangsteric desecration of the court on the DSS.

“The DSS cannot extricate itself from the abominable acts of December 6, 2019.

“When I informed the court that fresh charges were being filed against our clients and that they could be re-arrested, the prosecution denied the plan.

“As soon as the case was adjourned, the DSS pounced on Sowore and caused a disruption of the proceedings of the court.

“Having taken over the courtroom, Justice Ojukwu hurriedly rose and asked the registrar to adjourn all other cases.

“After the learned trial judge had risen for the day, she summoned the heads of the prosecution and defence teams to her chambers.

“When the lead prosecutor, Dr Liman Hassan (SAN), denied knowledge of the invasion of her court, she directed him to invite the head of the DSS team.

“When challenged to justify the invasion of the court, the officer could not. He apologised to Justice Ojukwu on behalf of the DSS.

“The judge then directed the officer to withdraw the DSS operatives from the courtroom.

“The directive was complied with as the operatives withdrew from the courtroom, but rushed out to join their colleagues who had taken over the entire court house.”

He demanded the release of Sowore “in obedience to court orders, pending the verdict of the court in their trial.

“We equally call for the release of all other political detainees and criminal suspects, who have been admitted to bail, pending trial by competent courts.”

He also demanded a stop to the “bizarre harassment of courts” which he said “cannot be tolerated under a democratically elected government that claims to operate under the rule of law.”

Falana noted that the operatives’ “abominable desecration” of the court on Friday was covered live by domestic and international media and journalists, some of whom he said were victims of the operatives’ acts of “gangsterism, barbarism and brutalisation” that day.

Pointing out contradictions in the DSS statement, Falana noted that while the agency argued in one breath that “the arrest of Sowore was ‘stage-managed’ by his supporters in order to give the service a bad name, it admitted in another “that officers of the service arrested Sowore outside the court.”

Calling for Sowore’s release, he said, “Having declared that the service arrested Sowore ‘outside the court’, despite the ‘stage managing’ argument, what the Nigerian people want to see happen is the immediate release of Sowore, pending his trial as ordered by the court.”

He further picked holes in the security agency’s statement blaming Friday’s incident on Sowore’s supporters.

He noted that the DSS operatives involved in Friday’s incident, including the one seen to be seizing and pinning down Sowore, were identifiable.

Falana said the operatives appeared in different types of wears with some of them even wearing masks.

He stated, “Regardless of the form of appearance, the officers of the service inside Court No. 7 were identifiable by their roles and acts of seizing Sowore and pinning him down.

“It is utter poor reasoning to say that Sowore’s supporters were also those bent on injuring him in order to arrest him.

“The argument of the service in this respect is as unfortunate and pitiable as the earlier argument of the service in respect of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who was once accused of wanting to set ablaze his own house.

“If Sowore’s supporters subjected him to such brutalisation in the presence of the DSS operatives why were they not arrested for contravening the provisions of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017? Or were the DSS operatives expecting the supporters of a defendant wanted by the state to kill him in their presence?”

He noted that “Before submitting himself for arrest, Sowore had rightly demanded a warrant of arrest and a detention order, but the DSS operatives were unable to produce either.”

He said notwithstanding the failure of the operatives to produce any document to justify the arrest, he and members of his defence team took the decision that he should accompany Sowore to the DSS headquarters “in view of his physical brutalisation inside the courtroom and the open threat to his life”.

He added, “I did and ensured that he was driven in my car to the DSS headquarters where I handed him over to the officers on duty.

“Thereafter, I requested a meeting with the head of the DSS, but I was informed that he was not in the office.”

He added that the DSS allegation that Sowore held meetings with some people could not be justified by the agency.

He asked, “Why did the prosecution not inform the trial court that the defendant had breached his bail condition?”

Faulting the DSS’ self-adulation as “a law-abiding institution,” Falana asked, “But why did it refuse to comply with the order of Justice Taiwo to release Sowore?

“Why did the DSS threaten to report the judge to the NJC for granting bail to Sowore?

“Why did the DSS subject the order of Justice Ojukwu for the release of Sowore to its own approval by asking the sureties already verified by the judge to report themselves to the DSS?

“Why did the DSS wait for the 24-hour ultimatum issued by the trial judge before releasing Sowore and Bakare?”

Lagos Yahoo Boy Sets Lover On Fire

By
Shalom Ekelaka
-
Lagos Yahoo Boy Sets Lover On Fire

Nineteen-year-old Victor Orji has been arrested by the police in Lagos for allegedly burning his 24-year-old lover to death over alleged infidelity.

The incident occurred on Saturday morning at G54 Army Post Service Housing Estate, Ojo, police said.

Orji, alleged to be a fraudster, was said to have poured petrol on his live-in lover Mariam Alabi after she spent time with another man on Thursday and Friday.

The suspect allegedly confessed that the N600,000 with which he rented their accommodation was part of proceeds of fraud, adding that he had been involved in such business for about three years.

According to the suspect, he had discovered through her phone when she returned on Friday that she went to see another man and not her father as she claimed.

He said the woman also left their home on Thursday to fix her hair but did not return till the following day, claiming she went to her father’s.

Orji who said he went through her phone and saw her chats, videos calls and nude pictures she sent to another man, claimed that she had agreed to stop prostitution when she moved into his place in March.

Orji Kalu To Receive Full Salary And Allowances While Serving Prison Term

By
Shalom Ekelaka
-
Orji Kalu To Receive Full Salary And Allowances While Serving Prison Term

The convicted Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, will continue to receive his salaries and all other entitlements while in prison, the Senate has said.

This is despite that he will not be performing any legislative function from prison.

The spokesperson of the Senate, Godiya Akwashiki, disclosed this to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

He said despite the conviction, Mr Kalu remains a sitting senator and will be paid all of his entitlements in full.

He said until the case gets to Surpeme Court and a final judgement is given, Mr Kalu remains a serving lawmaker.

“He is still a senator. This is the first court. The matter is going to Supreme Court so, he still has the opportunity to appeal up to the Supreme Court level.

“Of course they will pay him. Because he is a sitting senator just like I said…if you file for appeal, you are still serving and so they will pay you.

“All his entitlements will be paid. There is no cause for alarm. In fact, even if Court of Appeal says they have upheld the judgement of the lower court, he still has the right to go to Supreme Court. So once the Supreme Court says, yes, the judgement is okay, then that’s the final,” he explained.

Earlier, Mr Akwashiki said Mr Kalu’s seat will not be declared vacant.

He explained that no provision in the constitution that says the seat of any senator facing prosecution or convicted at a lower court should be declared vacant.

Mr Kalu’s seat will not be declared vacant except he (Mr Kalu) has explored all the legal options available to him without success, he said.

“Even the tenure of a former governor Joshua Dariye, who has been in prison for some time now, ran its course until the end of the 8th National Assembly. Nobody declared his seat vacant.”

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday sentenced Mr Kalu to 12 years in prison after convicting him of N7.65 billion fraud.

Mr Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, was pronounced guilty of the charge in a trial that lasted for 12 years.

The conviction comes 12 years after the ex-governor was first arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2007 and was tried alongside his company, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Udeh Udeogu, who was Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House during Mr Kalu’s tenure as governor.

AJ Wins

By
concoursemedia
-

AJ beats Ruiz to become two-times world heavy weight champion

By
concoursemedia
-

Breaking: Anthony Joshua Regains Belts To Become Two-Times World Heavy Weight Champion

By
concoursemedia
-

Anthony Joshua won his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr by unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia to reclaim his unified heavyweight titles and become a two-time world champion with a unanimous points victory over Andy Ruiz jr in a tense rematch in Saudi Arabia.

Six months on from the night Ruiz stunned boxing, Joshua risked seeing his career left in tatters with a second defeat, but served up 36 minutes of movement and well-timed punching to take the IBF, WBA and WBO titles back to Britain.

After cutting his Mexican rival inside the first round he never looked back and Joshua boxed intelligently throughout, picking out smart jabs and refusing to engage with his opponent at close quarters. He landed a fine left hook in the second and darted in and out of range at will, reaping the rewards of being at his lowest weight in over five years. Ruiz never looked close to landing a knockdown punch.

Joshua avoided the mistakes he made in his first fight with Ruiz, boxing stubbornly behind his jab in a clinical performance to win a wide points decision.

Two of the ringside judges scored the contest 118-110, with the other delivering a 119-109 verdict that saw Joshua win back his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight world titles.

“This is about boxing, I’m used to knocking guys out and last time I realised I hurt the man and I got caught coming in,” Joshua said immediately after his win.

“I had no excuses. So I wanted to put on a masterclass and show the sweet science of this sport, hitting and not getting hit.”

Joshua then suggested he would be open to a trilogy fight with Ruiz. “And – without a doubt – if you heard we’re going to do it a third.”

The first fight between the pair featured five dramatic knockdowns but – after a freak desert rain storm that briefly threatened some of the fights on the undercard – there was precious little drama at the Diriyah Arena.

There was a moment of hope for Ruiz when an accidental clash of heads opened up a cut above Joshua’s left eye, but the Mexican-American was consistently frustrated by the man he so sensationally beat in June. He did catch Joshua with a short hook in the eighth, but ended the fight desperately beckoning his rival to meet him in the centre of ring. To nobody’s surprise, a smirking Joshua declined his invitation.

Afterwards, Ruiz made the outrageous claim that he had not trained hard enough for his first world title defence.

“I gained too much weight,” he confessed in the ring after falling to his second professional defeat. “So let’s do it for a third time. I’ll be in the best shape of my life.

“But it affected me a lot, I thought I’d feel stronger. I tried to train myself, I don’t want to give excuses though. I couldn’t put together my combinations.”

However, after the fight Joshua appeared to dampen talk of an immediate rematch with Ruiz.

When asked where his career goes next, Joshua said: “I don’t know, I don’t want to talk too much. A big mouth is not what people respect. Whatever we can do, I will do.

“Let the fans decide. We are up for anything.

“I’m made for this stage. Look at this, a purpose built stadium for a purposeful night tonight.”

Joshua – who has followed in the footsteps of boxing luminaries including Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson in reclaiming the world heavyweight title – must now act quickly in deciding on his next opponent.

He has already been ordered by the WBO president to fight mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk within the next 180 days, while the Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev became the IBF mandatory challenger by defeating Hughie Fury in 2018.

Joshua could also decide to fight the winner of Deontay Wilder’s rematch with Tyson Fury for the WBC heavyweight title.

 

Breaking: Omoyele Sowore Re-Arrested in a Dramatic Disregard for Court Order

By
concoursemedia
-

Omoyele Sowore the convener of #RevolutionNow has been re-arrested by men of State Security Services in a dramatic and flagrant disregard for court order. Men of State Security Operatives invaded the court premises while the court was still in session and presided by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu. Omoyele Sowore was re-arrested just hours after being freed on bail, in a case that has raised questions on human rights and freedom of speech in the country. No reason has been given for the arrest.

Sowore, who is the Publisher of US-based Sahara Reporters and a presidential aspirant in the just concluded general election was detained after calling for a nationwide demonstration against the government. He was charged with money treason, money laundering and insulting the president.

The DSS officials stormed a Federal High Court in the capital, Abuja while the Court was in session.  Law and order broke down in the court room and during the chaos and scuffle that ensued, the Judge and Court staff fled for safety.

Despite being granted bail in October, authorities have continued to hold him, sparking an outcry from his supporters.  His co-defendant Olawale Bakare is also in the custody of state security services.

Mr Falana, the Counsel for the defendant said outside the court room that what is happening now will not go away unchallenged,” Mr Falana told reporters. “We either run this country on the platform of the rule of law or we resort to gangsterism which is what is going on.” There is so far no comment from the DSS.

 

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