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Boris Johnson Expected To Announce New Armed Forces Chief This Week

Boris Johnson expected to announce new armed forces chief this week

Boris Johnson has interviewed five candidates to head Britain’s armed forces, with navy chief Adm Tony Radakin and the general responsible for the SAS, Sir Patrick Sanders, frontrunners for the job.

Defence sources said the prime minister had been advised to pick a new military leader with “operational experience” to replace the outgoing Gen Sir Nick Carter, whose credibility was damaged by the chaotic exit from Afghanistan.

But there is uncertainty at the Ministry of Defence as to who Johnson will favour for the £270,000 a year post, although there is an expectation that Downing Street will announce the appointment this week now the final stage of interviews are complete.

All four armed forces officials are in the running, plus a more junior wild card candidate, Vice Adm Ben Key, responsible for joint operations, who was put in the field after No 10 wanted an extra, non-traditional name from the MoD.

Radakin, 55, the first sea lord, is seen as an experienced manager whose candidacy comes at a time when Johnson is pushing for greater use of British naval power, with the deployment of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

But there is unhappiness in some quarters of Whitehall that the admiral has appeared eager to claim credit for the Aukus nuclear submarine pact with Australia and the US, when it was largely negotiated by No 10.

Sanders, 55, a special forces veteran who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has more combat experience, although he heads up strategic command, a disparate group that combines the military’s cyber forces plus the secretive SAS.

Both, though, are acknowledged to be the strongest communicators in the field. “Nobody wants a repeat of Carter after Afghanistan, where he hit the wrong tone in the aftermath of the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul,” said one defence source.

Days after the fall of Kabul last month, Carter labelled the Taliban as “country boys” who wanted an Afghanistan “inclusive for all” – although there have been repeated reports of violent reprisals by the country’s new rulers, who have also effectively banned the secondary education of girls since taking over the country.

Despite the faster than expected collapse of the previous Afghan government, Key is felt to have presided over what is seen as a relatively successful emergency airlift from Kabul last month, in which the RAF rescued 14,500 people. Promoting him over the more senior service chiefs would be a major upset however.

The interviews complete a two-stage process, which began with a series of grillings at the beginning of the month by an MoD panel headed by Ben Wallace, the defence secretary. Following that, Wallace sent his own recommendation to the prime minister, but the decision is ultimately Johnson’s.

A defence source said Johnson had been told by Stephen Lovegrove, the national security adviser, to seek somebody with “calm judgment”.

Among the other candidates is Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, 57, the head of the army, who was at school with Johnson at Eton, which some believe could yet give him a chance. “Boris does like to reward people who he thinks have loyalty to him,” a former Downing Street staffer said.

Completing the field is head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, who presides over the service seen as having the best record on diversity. But he is not seen to be as strong a public speaker as Radakin, and insiders say he does not fancy his own chances strongly.

Downing Street and the MoD declined to comment.

Runners and riders

Tony Radakin: Royal Navy chief seen as a good public speaker with an eye for a PR opportunity, only last week announcing the appointment of Bond actor Daniel Craig as an honorary commander, to act as an advocate for service families.

Patrick Sanders: Special forces veteran who served on every major deployment over the past 25 years. Recently admitted his experiences in Iraq had left him with suicidal thoughts, as he called for soldiers and veterans to seek help for PTSD.

Mark Carleton-Smith: Old Etonian and former SAS commander who took over as head of the army in 2018. Once in charge of the SAS’s hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan – although the al-Qaida leader was ultimately shot by the US.

Mike Wigston: Comprehensive educated Welsh former Tornado pilot. Last month said the RAF was prepared to launch fresh, long-range strikes in Afghanistan even though there could be instances of “unavoidable civilian casualties.”

Ben Key: Head of operations whose profile soared during the Afghanistan crisis. Led the day to day deployment of 1,000 British troops around the perimeter of Kabul airport allowing hasty two week evacuation of Britons and Afghans to proceed.

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Man eaten alive by pet lion just days after buying the animal to keep in his back garden

A man was mauled to death and eaten by his pet lion just days after buying the beast to keep in his back garden.

A resident of Najaf, southern Iraq, was horrifically attacked by the predator before it consumed most of his body on Thursday, May 8.

“Today in a garden in the city of Kufa in Najaf, a citizen was attacked by a lion in his own garden and died immediately,” Mufid Tahir, spokesperson for the Najaf Police, told local news site Rudaw.

He added that the lion had to be k!lled because it had eaten a large portion of the man’s body, and refused to leave the remains.

The victim, 50-year-old Aqil Fakhr al-Din, had reportedly been keeping lions and other wild animals in his garden for several years, according to Tahir.

But on Thursday, the predator launched a surprise attack on its trainer before ferociously mauling him to death and devouring him.

One of the victim’s neighbours reportedly intervened and shot the lion with a Kalashnikov rifle, killing it with seven bullets, as per local TV reports.

The mans was immediately transferred to Al-Sadr Medical City Hospital in Najaf but did not survive due to the extent of his injuries.

Grisly images showed the man covered in blood as he laid on a hospital bed and an official investigation has also reportedly been opened into the circumstances of the incident.

A clip of the dead lion in the garden is also making rounds on social media, raising concerns about how al-Din was able to keep the wild animal on his property.

According to local reports, the victim had purchased the lion just days before the tragedy, with the intention of raising and taming it at home.

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Court jails T-dollar, TobiNation for spraying naira notes

The duo of Babatunde Peter Olaitan (T-Dollar) and Tobilola Olamide (TobiNation) have been sentenced to six months imprisonment each for mutilation of the Naira notes.

They were jailed by Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The convicts were arraigned on a separate one-count charge of tampering with the Naira notes and spraying, to which they each pleaded “guilty”.

The charge against Olaitan reads: “That you, BABATUNDE PETER OLAITAN, on 8th April 2025, at 23, Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N200 (Two Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying it, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

The charge against Olamide reads: “That you, TOBILOLA OLAMIDE A.K.A TobiNation, on 8th April 2025, at 23 Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N200 (Two Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying it, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”

In view of their pleas, prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie and H.U.KofarNaisa, respectively, reviewed the facts of the cases through Ibrahim Bukar, an investigative officer with the EFCC.

In his evidence, Bukar specifically told the court that the Commission, on April 10, 2025, generated an intelligence-driven investigation on TikTok, where Olaitan, also known as T-Dollar, was seen spraying Naira notes.

He also told the court that “Upon the approval of the intelligence by the Zonal Director, a letter of investigation was sent to the defendant, requesting him to make a statement regarding the video.

“The defendant reported to the Special Operations Team, SOT, on May 5, 2025 and his statement was recorded under caution.

“He stated that he went to a night club on April 8, 2025 and met some of his fans sharing money.

“He also said that a fan, in the process, gifted him a bundle of N200 notes, which he sprayed on some of his other fans.

“He was shown a video of him spraying the money and he made a statement regarding it.”

Consequently, the defendants’ extrajudicial statements and video recordings were rendered and admitted in evidence by the court.

Okozie and KofarNaisa, therefore, respectively prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.

Justice Owoeye convicted and sentenced both Olaitan and Olamide to six months imprisonment each, with an option of fine in the sum of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira).

The convicts’ road to the Correctional Centre started when they were arrested by operatives of the EFCC for Naira abuse. T

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Alleged N33.2bn arms procurement fraud: Re-arraignment of businessman stalled

The re-arraignment of Olugbenga Obadina, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Almond Projects Limited, on Monday, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) suffered a setback.

Obadina is being prosecuted over his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of N33.2billion meant for the purchase of arms by retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, a former National Security Adviser (NSA).

The matter, which was fixed for hearing before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, could not proceed because the amended charge, claimed to have been filed by the EFCC, was not in the court record.

Upon resumed hearing, the prosecution lawyer, Ibrahim Buba, informed the court that he had an amended charge filed on May 2 and served on the defendants.

But Justice Omotosho could not see the amended charge in the court record after a thorough search.

“Counsel, I do not have that charge before this court and I have checked our ledger and I do not see it there,” he said.

The judge said the amended charge might have been mistakenly taken to another court at the instruction of the anti-graft agency’s lawyer during the filing of the process.

Buba, who admitted that the amended charge might have been taken to Court 8, instead of Court 7 where the trial judge presides, tendered an apology for the mixup.

Adeola Adedipe, SAN, who appeared for the defendants in the case, also apologised to the court on behalf of the prosecution.

Justice Omotosho subsequently adjourned the matter until June 26 for re-arraignment of the defendants.

“This matter is adjourned to June 26 for arraignment of the defendants for the amended charge that is not before this court as a result of the prosecution given wrong number of the court at the Process Unit,” the judge said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Obadina, alongside his company, was earlier re-arraigned on Jan. 13, 2024, by the anti-corruption commission on eight-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N2.17 billion before Justice Omotosho.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the counts and the judge ordered his remand in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the perfection of his bail conditions.

NAN reports that Dasuki, a former NSA during the President Goodluck Jonathan government, was accused of criminal diversion of funds to the tune of 2.1 billion U.S. dollars.

The money was allegedly part of funds earmarked by the Federal Government to fight Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

The EFCC had, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/142/2016, sued Obadina and Almond Project Limited as 1st and 2nd defendants, following their alleged link with Dasuki’s misappropriated funds.

They were formerly being prosecuted before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of a sister court before his elevation to the Court of Appeal.

In court three of the charge, Obadina and Almond Projects Ltd were alleged to have, on April 3, 2014 directly took possession or control of the sum of N 648,000,000.00 (Six Hundred and Forty Eight Million Naira) paid into the account of Almond Projects Ltd with Zenith Bank Plc Account No: 1010921116.

The money was allegedly to have been paid from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser with the Central Bank of Nigeria without contract award.

The agency said the fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Dasuki (rtd) and the offence is contrary to Section 15(2), (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

NAN reports that Justice Dimgba had, on July 4, 2024, adjourned for adoption of final written addresses after the EFCC had closed its case with four witnesses and the defendants called two witnesses before he was elevated to the Appeal Court.(NAN)

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