Naira loses ground against US dollar

The Naira on Friday depreciated against the dollar at the parallel market after posting days of appreciation.

The nation’s currency lost N7 to exchange at N465 to a dollar after closing at N458 on Thursday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N542 and N480.

At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira traded at N399 to a dollar, CBN controlled rate, while Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N610 and N520.

Trading at the interbank market saw the Naira being sold at N305.25 to a dollar

NAN reports that the CBN injected over $500million dollars into the market, to boost liquidity, but the Naira continued to depreciate.

Traders in the market expressed concern about the depreciation of the Naira in spite of the gains earlier recorded.

Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said there was need for a review of the distribution mechanism.

“Many banks are selling to only clients with current accounts and not to savings account holders and there is also increasing demand for forex from our neighbouring countries.

“The different applicable exchange rates and volumes with Travelex and banks need to be harmonised and with that of BDCs to reduce friction,” Gwadabe said.

-NAN

Riz Ahmed: people will turn to ISIS due to lack of diverse movie roles

British actor Riz Ahmed issued a warning to the entertainment industry.

The actor said a lack of diversity in television and movies in the U.K. could cause people to "retreat to fringe narratives, to bubbles online and sometimes even off to Syria."

The actor, while addressing British Parliament, said the U.K. has failed to represent minorities on screen.

"If we fail to represent, we are in danger of losing people to extremism," Ahmed claimed.

The 34-year-old rose to fame in 2016 with major roles in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," "Jason Bourne" and HBO's "The Night Of."

"If we don't step up and tell a representative story. .. we are going to start losing British teenagers to the story that the next chapter in their lives is written with ISIS in Syria," he told Parliament. "We are going to see the murder of more [members of Parliament] like Jo Cox because we've been mis-sold a story that is so narrow about who we are and who we should be."

Ahmed, whose parents moved to England from Pakistan in the 1970s, said actors like him have been forced to move to America in order to find acting roles.

"We end up going to America to find work. I meet with producers and directors here, and they say ‘we don’t have anything for you, all our stories are set in Cornwall in the 1600s."

Greece resumes stalled negotiations with EU, IMF

Negotiations between Greece and international lenders have resumed amid Athens' struggle to secure a badly-needed fund from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The Greek Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that the talks resumed earlier in the day between Greek officials and representatives from the EU and the IMF.

The ministry said the aim of the talks was to free up fresh funds Greece needed to pay seven billion euros of a new debt, which is due in July.

The talks stalled after the IMF objected to a debt relief mechanism and targets the EU set for Athens. The US-based fund had insisted that Greece's mountain of debt should be reduced while the EU should set easier budget goals. The IMF had said that the plans were too ambitious to be realized.

A compromise was reached last week in Brussels, where the EU is based, breaking the impasse and allowing the talks to resume.

The IMF has, however, rejected demands by Athens about reduced tax hikes and less pension cuts, saying they are necessary if Greece wants to secure the cash to pay its debts.

Many feared that the deadlock in talks between Greece and the lenders would revive the crisis two years ago that saw Athens nearly pull out of the euro.

Greek officials have insisted that austerity measures imposed by the EU are hard to bear, urging Brussels to stop adopting painful measures such as increased taxes and pension cuts.

Greece has seen non-stop protests over the painful measures with many calling on the leftist government to stand by its promises it made when it came to power in January 2015 and persuade the EU to reduce pressure on Athens.

-PressTV

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'Unsung hero' Kante pushing Chelsea towards title: Wise

Former Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise has likened N'Golo Kante to club great Claude Makelele and said the 25-year-old's stellar performance is one of the reasons the London side appear to be cruising towards the Premier League title.

Since joining from Leicester City last year, France International Kante has made the anchorman role his own at Chelsea, who have a 10-point cushion over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur with 12 games remaining.

"He is very much like him (Makelele). He breaks things up really well and his passing is impressive," Wise, who made over 300 appearances in 11 years at Chelsea, told the club's website.

"He's an unsung hero and people are recognising what he is doing for the team. He closes people down and he shuts hole, protects the back three and I think he's done fantastic ever since he's come in."

Wise also felt Chelsea would have no problem dealing with the pressure having won the title in 2015.

"Some of these players, they're big players, they've been in this situation before so I can see them coping quite easily with the pressure coming towards them," Wise added.

Chelsea travel to face London rivals West Ham United on Monday.

-Reuters

Buhari: I Need Longer Period Of Rest

PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said results of the series of medical checkups he carried out in the cause of his medical vacation had shown that he needed longer period of rest.

He said this necessitated his staying back in London, United Kingdom longer than initially planned.

The President said this in a four-paragraph made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
Adesina did not disclose how long the President’s “longer period of rest” will take.

He however thanked Nigerians for their prayers and good wishes while assuring them that there is no cause for worry.

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari thanks millions of Nigerians who have been sending good wishes and praying for his health and well-being in mosques and churches throughout the country.

“The President is immensely grateful for the prayers, show of love and concern.

“President Buhari wishes to reassure Nigerians that there is no cause for worry.

‘”During his normal annual checkup, tests showed he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating the President staying longer than originally planned.”

-Punch

Feature: #Lushmusings

With Lush_Lawyer

So many times we get whelmed up by waves of emotions; we experience sweet nostalgia 'bout the people we so much care for. Sometimes it brings the tears that hurt like the bite from the hive, other times it lurks and mocks at our strength to hold our peace. This emotions nibbles at our strength to stand strong, to carry on in spite of the people we so much wish were close by, like they use to.

At these moments of our lives, we really want to run into them, give them those bear hugs, smile and chuckle with them almost at the same time, and pour out all the many experiences we've had while they were away. But then, we come to the dawning once again that all we have left with us are the effects of life's vicissitudes to us.

By and by, we become strangers to persons we almost could not live without once upon a time. We drift into silence and pitiable forgetfulness of the joys we once shared with these same persons. We settle for the present style of life offered us by circumstances. And suddenly- we get pricked by an angst telling us of how forlorn our lives have become. We realize all we have left of possessions are the bitter-sweet memories of the ones we once loved.  

This bridge we could have bridged by staying in touch. These loved ones turn strangers we could have sent texts, make calls to, beeped at the lowest and video-called at the highest. But somehow, someway, we choose to allow the issues of life destroy our good relationships, we allow our ego drive us into craziness and rellos turned to perfect strangers. Somehow, somewhere, we make up busy-ness and allow the seconds tick into hours, months into years. And then... Our lives become very lonely and empty.

The distance is not the problem; the issues are not the snag. The silence is what separates us from love; the ego is what kills the ties. I am having a rethink, are you? It's February, it portends love but I choose to live love through each day that life brings.

#lushmusings

Breaking News: Benjamin Toma condemned to death by hanging

A Plateau High Court sitting in Barkin-Ladi on Thursday sentenced a 37-year-old man,  Benjamin Toma to death by hanging for killing his wife, identified as Vicky. The offence was committed in 2014.

Justice Samson Gang, in a 68-page judgment, pronounced Benjamin Toma guilty of a one-count charge of culpable homicide, punishable with death, under section 221 of the penal code.

“Going by the findings of this court, you, Benjamin Toma, mercilessly and in a calculative manner, took the life of your wife, Vicky in cold blood.

“You have not shown any remorse for your reprehensible act at the time of the incident and throughout the entire trial.

“You were exhibiting such character traits that seem to suggest your deep conviction about the justness of your wicked and calous act.

“In all of this, your two children are the ultimate losers, but the law shall nonetheless take its course; the offence for which you are being charged, does not contemplate a plea in mitigation.

“The sentence of this court upon you is that you, Benjamin Toma, will be hanged until you are dead,” Gang declared.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that Toma was arraigned on Oct. 13, 2014, to answer a one-count charge of culpable homicide punishable with death, under section 221 of the penal code.

He was said to have committed the crime on March 4, 2014.

Toma was specifically accused of using an iron rod to kill the wife, and also using a rope to tie her neck before hanging her in the store, to give the impression that she killed her self.

When the suspect appeared in court, he however, pleaded not guilty to the allegation of killing his wife, and claimed that she took her life by hanging herself.

But while standing in court as a prosecution witness, Sgt. Sunday Abu, who investigated the case, however told the court that Toma, in a confessional statement, had said that on the said date (March 4), he demanded for sex from his wife, at about 1 a.m.

“He (Toma) further confessed that his wife refused to grant his request, and declared that Vicky had persistently rejected that demand for more than one year on the suspicion that he had HIV/AIDS.

“Toma said that because of this wife’s allegation, he went to the hospital and confirmed he had hepatitis and not HIV.

“He told investigators that on that night, he struggled with his wife and later used an iron rod to hit her.

“He said that when she fell, he left her there for two hours, and later took her out of the room and used a rope to hang her in a bid to conceal his action.”

Abu, who submitted the confessional statement in court as evidence, quoted Toma as saying that he acted alone without any help, adding that even the children were fast asleep and did not know what was happening.

Toma promptly owned up to this statement that bore his thumb-print.

He said he was not under duress when he made the two confessional statements, first at the Barkin-Ladi Divisional police headquarters and later at the state CID, all of which contained his acceptance of the deed.

Late Vicky’s mother, Ngo Titi Sambo, who also appeared as a prosecution witness, told the court that she heard people crying at her daughter’s matrimonial home and branched over only to discover the body of her daughter hanging from the roof.

Sambo said she called her son, one Captain, who observed that the table the accused claimed Vicky stood on, to commit the said suicide, was very far away from her.

Captain also noticed some lacerations and wounds on her, which prompted him to invite the police as he suspected foul play.

Mr. David Adudu, defense counsel, said that the judgement was right in view of the evidence presented in the court.

“Justice is a two-way traffic; justice for the state, the accused and the victim.

“However, there is a window for the convict to appeal. We shall study the judgement and know what steps to take, but for now, we are satisfied with the judgement,” he said.

-NAN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: BAYERN DESTROYS ARSENAL AS REAL WINS

UCL: Bayern goes 5 stars against Arsenal, Real wins by 3

German champions Bayern Munich brushed past visiting Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie by a whopping 5 goals to 1.

The gunners conceded five goals in front of 70,000 spectators at Allianz Arena, with Arsenal only able to respond once.  Four of Bayern’s goals were scored in the second half.

Dutch forward Arjen Robben put the Bavarians ahead with a superb left-footed wonder goal in the 18^th minute before EPL top shot Alexis Sanchez leveled the scores from a spot kick 12 minutes later.

Robert Lewandowski scored for Bayern in the 53rd minute, to shoot them ahead 2-1 making up for conceding the penalty kick earlier on.

Former Fc Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara scored three minutes after. And in the 63rd minute, seven minutes after his first goal, he found Arsenal net again, increasing the score line to 4-1. Thomas Mueller completed the route in the 88th minute after he scored the Germans’ fifth goal of the night.

Meanwhile at the Santiago Bernabau in Spain, defending champions Real Madrid came from a goal down to beat Italian club SSC Napoli 3-1.

Napoli’s eight minute goal by Lorenzo Insigne gave the Italian visitors a shocking lead silencing the 80,000 spectators at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. But Madrid overcame the scare 11 minutes after with a goal by Karim Benzema.

In the second half, Toni Kroos and Casemiro scored for Madrid again to give the laliga hopefuls a first leg advantage.

Entertainment: Monetize your Art

By

Paul McPetros

Sometime ago I preached about monetizing your art. And I can thumb suck some peeps didn't decipher the sermon. Well, as much as I'm an advocate of buy and selling; I still recognize the law of demand and supply. 

An artist made a banging track using a laptop, a pirated recording software, a four-channel console, a keyboard and a microphone. Or maybe he/she is rich enough to pay for the services of a dope producer.

What kind of release is the song? Is it a remix? Is it an original song? A cover or a mixtape?

Note: Remix; cover and mixtape are all different concepts; they are not synonymous. I will talk about them in another post.

Is the release going to be for free, donation, sale or the whole three? These three ( free, donation and sale) have their pros and cons.

An unknown or unpopular artist with no street credibility, no followers, no connects should not think of monetizing his/her art at the early stage of his/her career. Who's going to buy/purchase his/her art? You see... At this stage the best an artist can do is to give his/her contents for free. This would help to generate loyal fans/followers.

While a popular artist is in a place to monetize his/her art cause he/she has goons (fans) that are willing to pay for his/her art. Or he/she could decide to give it for free. This is at his/her discretion. 

The artist priority should be to encourage people; bless souls and not for the money. But hey, the artist needs money to pay bills. 

Dear artist, understand your stage of development before monetizing your art. It is folly to supply without demand. Peace.

Grammy Awards: Beyounce leads with 9 Nominations

Here is a list of nominees in the most prominent categories:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

Adele, “25”

Beyonce, “Lemonade”

Justin Bieber, “Purpose”

Drake, “Views”

Sturgill Simpson, “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth”

 

 

RECORD OF THE YEAR (for best overall song):

Adele, “Hello”

Beyonce, “Formation”

Lukas Graham, “7 Years”

Rihanna featuring Drake, “Work”

Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out”

 

 

SONG OF THE YEAR (for songwriting):

Adele, “Hello.” Songwriters Adele and Greg Kurstin

Beyonce, “Formation.” Songwriters Beyonce along with Khalif Brown of rap duo Rae Sremmurd, Asheton Hogan and Mike Will Made It

Justin Bieber, “Love Yourself.” Songwriters Bieber along with English star Ed Sheeran and producer Benny Blanco

Lukas Graham, “7 Years.” Songwriters are band frontman Lukas Forchhammer and keyboardist Morten Ristorp along with producer Stefan Forrest and composer Morten Pilegaard

Mike Posner, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza.” No additional songwriters

 

 

BEST NEW ARTIST:

Kelsea Ballerini

The Chainsmokers

Chance the Rapper

Maren Morris

Anderson .Paak

BEST RAP ALBUM:

 

 

Chance the Rapper, “Coloring Book”

De La Soul, “And the Anonymous Nobody”

DJ Khaled, “Major Key”

Drake, “Views”

Schoolboy Q, “Blank Face LP”

Kanye West, “The Life of Pablo”

 BEST ROCK ALBUM

Blink-182, “California”

Cage the Elephant, “Tell Me I’m Pretty”

Gojira, “Magma”

Panic! At The Disco, “Death of a Bachelor”

Weezer, “Weezer”

 

 

BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK ALBUM:

Bon Iver, “22, A Million”

David Bowie, “Blackstar”

PJ Harvey, “The Hope Six Demolition Project”

Iggy Pop, “Post Pop Depression”

Radiohead, “A Moon Shaped Pool”

Story Series: Secrets (Chapter 5)

CHAPTER FIVE

Director Dennis Daniel couldn’t bring himself to accept that Alex and Tahir were gone too less than a week after 4 others under his unit were murdered in a compromised mission. He was heartbroken and felt like crying if only it would turn back the hands of time. He cursed himself, cursed the mission, the SS and cursed Mustapha. For how long will his men continue dying? If the Military wants, let it control the whole of Africa, he, Dennis, no longer cares; he was fed up.

Director Malu walked in, interrupting his thoughts

“Dennis, you look bad”

“This whole damn operation is over, I’m going to save my boy” he declared

“Keep you emotions in check, Dennis”

“If he was your son, you won’t say such a thing”

“He’s not yours either”

“Don’t be so insensitive, Malu”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I’m calling Calabar as soon as I get a satellite image of his position”

“Against protocol!”

“To hell with protocol!”

“Okay, okay Dennis. I’m going to be in my office, let’s hope you get it right”

“Get the devil moving out of my office!”

*******        ***********      ************        *****        ****** ******* ****       ****

Ben ran all the way to the top floor, and then saw the reality- a dead end. There was no way out now for him. The only way out meant going downstairs whence he came from but someone was blocking the way. Tired and broken, with bleeding arm and feet, and without any fire power, he rushed into a corner and collapsed down, his head almost bursting.

*******        ***********      ************        ********              *** ******* ****   ****

Director Mustapha stood watching Felix in horror. He had not intended that, never had he wanted harming the young man- it was an accident. In fact, everything that day had gone contrary to plan. What would he say happened to Felix? How was he going to possibly explain this?

Quickly, he dragged the young man into the rest room and closed the door. He then began to go through the bare-check. He was shocked to find out that, indeed, Felix had seen a lot to suspect something was going wrong.

Damn! What was he going to do now?

Be careful, you’re not the only smart guy in here, a voice inside of him warned

*******        ***********      ************        *******                **** ******* *****   ***

As he lay down in that corner, Ben was certain his end had come. Without a weapon, he was defenseless. Clutching the laptop to his chest, he closed his eyes.

For the first time in a very long time, Ben shaded tears, not for himself but for his 2year old daughter and her mother Adeola whom he had abandoned more than a year ago. He was not even sure what the little girl looked like then neither was he sure he would ever know. He felt sorry and all the mistakes he had made in his relationship with people hitting him hard. Tears flowed as he did a sincere prayer

Oh, God if you spare me this moment and I live, I’m going back to them. I will never leave them again.

*******        ***********      ************        ********              *** *****     ** ********

Director Mustapha stood there in the control room debating with himself and cursing.

You are a murderer! A voice in him said. No, all I did and doing is for the country, he fired back

He thought about Hadiza and felt sorry for her. The girl has gone through a lot today and must be stressed out. She will return to him broken and demanding answers. He felt certain she would hate him if only she knew his real intentions.

*******        ***********      ************        *******                 **** ******* ********

The top floor looked empty and quiet as Hadiza reached. She knew Ben would be there and smiled when she heard heavy breathing coming from a corner. She moved slowly, her legs tired too, careful not to fall into a trap. But when she turned on the corner, Ben was there, wrapped up, helpless, eyes closed and lips muttering inaudible words. She moved closer and touched him

*******        ***********      ************        *******           **** ******* ******            **

At the DHQ, the cabal of senior officers was all rounded up and agitated. They had lost signals and communication with Dike, and had begun to suspect something awful was taking place.

“Captain Pam!” Major-General Donald Iheancho yelled

“Yes, sir”

“What’s going on?”

“Sir, still no signal, but as soon as I get it back, we will resume negotiation”

“We’re done negotiating!” Rear Admiral Sule Tanko declared

“Sir!”

“I want you to move in a team to Calabar tonight!”

“Yes sir!”

“Take a special commando unit and bring us that computer!”

“Yes, sir!”

If only the Military knew what had taken place that night, they would have dropped that idea entirely since there was time.

(To be continued)

Family: Marry but don't have kids

With Lunatik Dokto

I don't know if I'm the only one who sees some children everyday running around in the neighbourhood bare-footed and oftentimes scantily clothed? I don't know also if I'm the only one who notice them scavenging through trash bins,  sleeping in vulnerable places and positions, playing in gutters and trenches, go a whole day barely eating and always at the risk of being run down by some reckless driver?

But the biggest question I don't know if I'm the only one who asks is "WHO AND WHERE ARE THE PARENTS"?

I mean what's the sense in having children you are not prepared to be responsible for?

A parent isn't just someone who brings a child into the world- anybody can do that. There's another word for parenting, it's called RESPONSIBILITY. Whether you are religious or not, it is a terrible thing to have a child you won't take of.

It is so horrible to learn that some parents actually depend on their underage children to feed- by sending them hawking or serving as domestic helps. Such a shame!

My heart bleeds anytime I see kids like this. They do not, in any way, deserve such cruel fate.

To be a parent means you're prepared to shoulder the responsibility of feeding, accommodating, mentoring, leading, guiding, instructing and at the barest minimum clothing that child.

It's only fair, then, to advise that you should the baby making part until you are ready else they will curse you to your grave.

Yes, go ahead and marry if you must just don't have kids until you can be a parent.

My 2kobo please.

Relationship: Should a lady ask a man out?

With
 Gloria Eswayi Emmanuel

The issue of who should first profess love between a man and woman in order to start a romantic relationship has become a bone of contention within the African context.

To some, whether it's the guy or lady that first profess love, it's a matter of indifference to them. To others, it's a taboo for a lady to first profess love to a guy.

 They believe a lady who first profess love to a guy will not be respected in the relationship, and for her to maintain her dignity, whether she first has a crush on a guy, she should remain silent and if need be, die with her feelings unexpressed.

In an 'ideal African society', a guy who is interested in any lady, is expected to profess his love to her through whichever medium he dims fit. The big question here is...going by the opinion of an ideal African society, about this issue, what happens to a lady who's in love with a guy she is not permitted to tell and the guy isn't noticing her on his own?

My take! It's true we Africans are expected to preserve, maintain and promote the 'African culture'.

Evidently, there's no single word known as the
African culture; though, there are various cultures in Africa depending on where we come from, and some of these cultures don't foster the development of Africa and her people.Eg, the killings of twins in cross river state which was abolished by a white lady known as Mary Slessor. It is also pertinent that cultures that don't promote the development of Africa be terminated.

I mean, there's no harm in a lady telling a guy that she loves him through whichever way she feels like expressing  her love.

Evidently, women have innate powers that speaks volumes even without saying a word. Its better than sitting and waiting that the guy notice you. You mustn't walk up to him and say hey, I love you! There are different ways to do so, e.g, becoming friends with him, talk always...hope you are not expecting me to give you expo?

Well ladies, move forward by killing every mentality responsible for your set backs!

Story Series: Secrets (chapter 4)

CHAPTER FOUR

After taking out Tahir and Alex, Hadiza tracked Dike effortlessly through a far more sophisticated tracker only she and the Director had in the whole of the SS.

She followed his car steadily as he moved into the heart of the city.

But she couldn’t help feeling a bit ruffled. There was no plan to shoot either of them but they had discovered her and would no doubt have reported to the central command who in turn would have ordered her arrest. She had informed the CG and DCC who maintained it was alright and that she must put that behind her and move on with the mission.

She was not happy with their death but she was forced to. It was sad, they had been her colleagues and that mattered to her. If her own colleagues could go, then Dike would go too.

                                        **                         ***                                       ****

When he returned to the control room, Felix ran the bare-check again and again. Ben had reported the loss of his team and here he was about to get a glue

Click ……….click …..Click

The tracer displayed Hadiza’s profile!

What the devil is this? It displayed her activity profile and indicated she had been the one ahead of the command. Most shockingly, she had been in contact with the CG and DCC more than ten times already.

I’ve got to speak with Director Dennis! Felix decided. He tried his office phone but it wasn’t connecting. He decided to walk there

As he turned the knob, Director Mustapha was standing by the door

“Going somewhere, Felix?”

     ****                                                                *** ****                                           ****

At Emerald computers, Dike pulled his car over at the parking space in front of the four-storey building where he had been working since his dismissal from the Army. It was here that he had built what was threatening his life now, the override programme.

As he sat in his car, Dike thought about many things. He thought about Mustapha’s offer, the honour he talked about and he thought of the Military too. True, he wants to wear the uniform again but now it’s all slipping away.

He had been in contact with an SS guy, Ben, who had pleaded with him to turn in the programme with assurances that he would cut out a Presidential amnesty for him. Of course, he had refused, confused, not knowing who to trust.

To hell with them all!

As he got out of the car, he saw a shadow behind the adjourning building, someone was hiding there. Quickly, he took cover behind his car, hoping to catch a glimpse of who it was. The shadow was gone

In a jiffy, he got into the car, ignited the engine and roared out of the environment only to see a sports car right behind him.

**                                                                                   *****                                                                                                                                                                                                         

“Director Mustapha, what’s happening?” Felix asked terrified

“Nothing is going on, Son”

“No, something is going on. I thought this mission is classified”

“Top grade level ‘A’” he emphasised in his reply

“Then why is agent Hadiza who should be on leave now currently involved?”

“Who told you that?” The Director’s eyes narrowed with a shock

“I saw it on my bare-check!”

“Bare-check?”

“Yes, I made it months ago”

“So what do you think is happening?”

“Lets call in the Field Ops Director, may be he can suggest”

“No, we won’t”

“Then you know something about this, don’t you?”

“Let me explain something to you, son”

“No!”

Felix made to leave and a mild struggled ensued

“I said listen to me, Felix!”

The struggle turned violent and in a moment of accident, Mustapha pushed Felix and the young man hit his face on the wall before collapsing on the ground. Within few moments, he had passed out with blood gushing from his mouth.

*******        *******                                              **** ** ****                *** ********

As she sped towards Dike’s car, Hadiza took out her pistol. She was close enough to take him out but instead shot and deflated his tires. The car swings backwards, hitting another car and another before coming to a halt. There was smoke everywhere.

In the confusion that ensued, Hadiza smiled as she caught a glimpse of Dike running as he ran into a building across the road.

*******        ***********      ************        *********** ******* ********

“Hello!” Dike called out loudly on the phone

“Lieutenant!” Ben screamed, surprised

He was pleasantly shocked Dike was calling him

“Listen, I’m being pursued. I’m going to tell you where to get the override, and in case I don’t make it out please destroy it”

“I promise!”

He told him everything he needed to know and that he was severely wounded in the car crash and bleeding profusely

“Give me the pass key!” Ben requested “the pass key to the lab”

“834MK……..”

Just then Hadiza appeared just some 50 yards away from him

“Go on!” Ben urged

“034…………”

Hadiza blazed the light of her torch on him blinding his eyes as she cocks her berretta

“Dike!” Ben screamed

“444, that’s it” he submitted with a painful groan

Hadiza fired and Ben could hear Dike scream. She smiled enjoying seeing him in pain. The bullet had caught him in the arm and the phone was now on the ground. She picked it up

“Don’t get any dull, sweet heart, I’m coming for you”

She made sure Ben heard that before smashing the phone on the ground

“Let me go!” Dike demanded

“Of course I will, just tell me where the system is”

“You will never get it”

She pressed his wound and he screamed in pain

“You better tell me, may be I can be merciful to you”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Don’t worry about that, honey”

“He’s going to get it before you”

“Who?”

“Go to hell!” he spat on her face and she grew angry

She pressed the wound again this time harder

“Go to hell!” he yelled "i'm not telling you anything!"

She didn't need him to do that anyway, she already knew it was Ben, the Director had told her.

“Where’s he going to?”

“To your father's party, now let me go!"

“Oh, of course”

True to the Director's words, Edwards was a SERE graduate and would not be easily broken to given information. She has no other option than to return to Emerald computers and run the wild goose chase, and if lucky, the proverbial goose will run no more.

At that, she got up and started moving out.  If Dike Edwards had ever thought in those moments that Hadiza had spared him, he was wrong

“I’m sorry, honey” she said turning back” but thanks, anyway”

She fired three bullets into his body and walked out.