Graphic pics: How TV star & actor, Von Apochi was nearly burnt to death

Gulder Ultimate Search 1 contestant, TV star and actor Von Apochi tells his story of how he survived a horrific fire incident when his car went up in flames about a month a go in Lagos, leaving him with second degree burns. His story below...

To say am stunned will be the most mild way to put this... at first my heart skipped so hard i could feel my hands tremble; had to place a quick call to my friend and brother Von; well, if you have never met Von, you'll have no idea how amazing and super supportive of a man he is.

Anyway, let me cut to the chase and allow you guys to read this super mighty testimony... 

''This is my true life experience, I recently went through the fire and back alive. I may not share photos now as the pictures are not very friendly and very worrisome. However, please help me thank God for life and the miraculous healing. The doctors and nurses have not recovered from the awe of my miraculous healing God gifted me with.
Several surgeons and Burn Experts have been thrilled at the miraculous healing. God is wonderful and real... I saw the Hand of God live in my life; a friend of mine that is still surprised at the whole healing process while in shock of excitement, she confirmed to me that she sees a light over me.

This is not one of those oratorical compositions or some popular prose or write up, this is real and true.
I do not like to think of the way it happened but I will try to explain part: My car was burnt totally as the fire started from the bonnet of the car and engulfed the entire car. I was literally engulfed with fire while I ran alone and helpless along the lonely road beside the Harvey road cemetery; for those of you who are conversant with Lagos and the Yaba area, you will understand the loneliness I speak of as this happened at about 4am on my way back from a quick strategy meeting.

 At first my car hit one of those big blocks meant for constructing gutters. The block was placed by the side of the road instead of being placed in the gutter, and then the fire started from the bonnet of my car. With the fire over my body, I screamed, "Blood of Jesus" severally and dove to the ground to roll but suddenly, the fire went out. At this moment I could not feel my face anymore, my hands were burnt black.


My little Von-Edric back at home was crying unusually that morning my wife said. My wife had called me before the accident to tell me that my son was crying heavily. I normally change his dippers at night and sometimes feed him, this is to allow my wife rest at night as the responsibilities during the day are quite tasking. She then called me again to ask if I was getting close to the house, then and there I broke the news to my wife that I was burnt by fire. She screamed and went into prayers.

At this time my mind was racing through a lot of things, my acting career, and my job as a business consultant with one of the multinational companies in Nigeria. Oh my political career, oh my face, oh my "shakara" lol! Oh my job as the host of miss tourism 2015 oh my... what a devil is this I thought, well, many things went through my mind. But, in all of that moment the worst of the things that bothered me was the excruciating pain I was feeling, the pain was so severe that I felt like knocking off. I had heard that people mostly die from pain and infection in cases of burn, this thought bothered me further. All I could do was pray, pray!! And pray!!!

Let me reserve details of the entire process of the accident for the sake of post-traumatic stress, I shall continue with the hospital experience instead. I was rushed to a specialist hospital in Surulere Lagos by some unknown security men patrolling the area.

The hospital was the only one I could remember at that time, maybe it is because the hospital is close to my home because I told then the hospital they should take me to. We finally got to the hospital, they rushed me inside and handed me over to the doctor on duty, God bless those men wherever they are. Whilst in the hospital receiving first aid, the doctor on duty had given me the strongest pain killer they had in the hospital, he said.

This pain killer was supposed to knock me out but my eyes were wide open as my brain was still contending with the pains rather than respond to some drowsy pain killer. I was so unstable and disturbed; I got up severally to pace about hoping I could walk away from the pain. Suddenly my wife walked into the hospital looking worried and of course to also check the extent of damage the fire had caused but at this point in time, one could not measure the damage caused as all my face was black like burnt coal and hands burnt dry. My two lower palms were bruised from the dive, my thighs were slightly burnt and my upper bum was also burnt, my neck was burnt from the front but nothing happened to any other part of my body.

I quickly asked my wife to inform my mother whom I know would back me up with serious prayers. Please help me say a word of thanks to my praying wife and praying mother and I thank those who heard early and prayed for me and those of you praying for me now, God bless you.
On the third day, my face was swollen to the extent that my eyes were covered, my hands were swollen also, and my neck was largely blistered also with my bum blistered too. Too much pain for one brain to cope with, pain killers were like taking water as injections. I was steadily on drips, my hands were pierced at random looking for veins; I was suffering.

This is about a Month now and this is my testimony… you will appreciate God more when I release the pictures of my current look and my look then. Yes I had plastic and burn surgeons consulted; I have a skin specialist working on my face and neck but believe me these surgeons, skin specialist, nurses and doctors are marvelled at the healing and recovery of my face and other body parts. They say there is no medical explanation to this speed and healing process but they just say, “thank God for you Von, you are a gifted and blessed child of God”.

I just want to conclude this by saying Thank God for the miracle of life, thank God for healing and speedy recovery, thank God for my Wife, Mother, Father, other Family members and of course you because I believe your lips will say Thank you Lord for this miracle and testimony.

Von before the fire incident

I am bouncing back to my job and of course back to the movies again fresher and finer.

God bless you all this is my testimony.

Buhari: ‘We feared Jonathan would not accept defeat’ - APC

The APC said when they found out they'd won the election, they feared that Pres. Jonathan would reject the result and invent a military intervention to stop Buhari from being president but were surprised when, not only did Pres. Jonathan concede defeat, but called Buhari to congratulate him. This was something the APC didn't expect and would be forever grateful to Jonathan for...

The Director, Media and Publicity Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Organization, Mallam Garba Shehu, talked to Vanguard about APC's surprise on GEJ's phenomenal move...

“I can say that the President acted with grace. He surprised us because we never expected that they would accept defeat. In fact, the sense everyone had was that they probably had plan A, B, C or D. And in any case, with the kind of thing that Mr. Orubebe did at the collation center, you knew that even when the President had grace, given the chance with the community of people around him, they could have threatened this democracy.

 “Look, I have been involved in presidential campaigns about three or four times in the past, the difference is that this is the most fearful campaign that I have ever experienced. This is the most life threatening campaign because we were dealing with opponents we thought would stop at nothing because they were throwing everything into it.

So, we were not taking anything for granted. It affected our lives. Would you see me in a night club? You couldn’t risk it because you didn’t even know who was trailing you. And it came as a huge relief.

“Again, we were getting security reports from our own sources. Until the President said ‘I concede’ and congratulated Buhari, we felt every minute that something wrong would happen. There was a clear and discernible threat to democracy as a system of government.

“Look, everyone felt concerned because, what if, God forbid, he declared a coup? These scenarios had been laid before Nigerians. Mr. Okupe, the Special Adviser to the President, was he not on Youtube, recorded on video, saying that Buhari will never become President? What do you take that for? It means that Buhari would win and they will take it away from him.

“This careless talk, arrogant display of power, it had come from the Villa. Many sources with linkages to power: Asari-Dokubo, Chief E.K. Clark and all of them, were they not sounding words to the President? They had said it that they would take away their part of the country from Nigeria if Buhari won.

“But for the President to have come and say ‘I accept defeat as the leader of the country’; that had an effect of really calming things down. And that’s why, whether they like it or not, President Jonathan has written his name in gold in so far as this is concerned.” Shehu said.

He then assured that the Buhari would not avenge the attacks on his person by the allies of Jonathan, saying there was enough work to do to meet the aspirations of Nigerians than pursuing mundane things.

Source: Vanguard

Man arrested in Lagos for killing student over girlfriend

A 38 year old car wash attendant Monday Ekwekuba, an indigene of Imo State, has been arrested by the Lagos state Police command for killing 26-year-old student Wisdom Okafor pictured above in the Ojokoro area of Lagos State following a disagreement over the victim's closeness to his girlfriend.

Punch reports that the suspect Ekwekuba had visited his girlfriend on March 22nd and met Wisdom in her house. He accused the deceased of having an affair with his girlfriend and out of anger, picked up a stick and smashed it on Wisdom's head who took to his heels but unfortunately ran into a moving vehicle where he was crushed to death.

According to Daniel, the victim's younger brother, he said his brother became friends with the lady in question after he mistakenly dialed her number. He said they were never dating

“It was after he mistakenly dialled her phone number and they spoke that she invited him to her apartment and that was how they met. He later saw her in a nylon company where he was working to raise money for his exams. She was also working there. She was older than my brother and there was no way they could be dating,” he said.

Also speaking on the incident, his elder brother, Celestine said "On Sunday, March 22, around 10.30pm, the police came with a lady to my house and asked for my brother. They said he was involved in a fight and had injured a man named Monday (Ekwekuba), who had been hospitalized.  I told them my brother went out to see a friend and had yet to return to the house. They said they would arrest me until I was able to produce my brother. I was detained and later they asked me to pay N10, 000 for Monday’s treatment, which I did. They then asked how I would produce my brother, and I decided to call him in their presence. His phone started ringing in the pocket of one of the policemen. The officer said the phone belonged to the man in the hospital, who had just died.”

Police reports say the girl in question later confessed that her boyfriend pursued the victim to his death. The suspect went into hiding after the incident but was later arrested.

Celestine has made a plea to the police to release his brother's body for burial

“Our mother is late and our father is in the village in Enugu. He is sick, and I cannot inform him of the death of our brother because I don’t know what can happen to him. My job has been at a standstill and they should please release the corpse to us so I can go and bury him and move on" he said. The police however say they would release his body after they receive the autopsy result on his corpse.

I have been threatened for campaigning for GEJ - Ifeanyi Uba says

Coordinator of the Transformation Agenda of Nigeria, TAN,  Ifeanyi Uba has alleged threat to his life by some unknown persons for canvassing support for President Jonathan. At a press conference held yesterday in Lagos, Mr Uba said himself and his family have faced various threats from unknown persons in recent times. He also alleged that his businesses in Lagos have also faced some threats as well and that he has reported the threats to the appropriate authority.

Mr Uba also addressed insinuations that he plans to lead Ibo traders to the Oba of Lagos palace to pledge their support for APC Governorship candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode. According to him, there is no truth to this allegation.

Two would-be suicide bombers intercepted in Yobe

Two would-be suicide bombers were intercepted in Biu town of Borno State yesterday April 5th. According to Premium Times, one of the suicide bombers, a male, was killed after he was caught trying to enter a crowded mosque where worshipers were observing their 2p.m. prayer. A resident of the town while narrating the incident said;

"Some of our youth(s) on guard suspected the would-be bomber carrying the decoder in his hand; and when they tried to frisk him, it was discovered the decoder was unusually heavy and the carrier began to fidget. As he was trying to escape the youths hacked him down and summarily killed him there and then”

Another suicide bomber, a male, was caught with bombs concealed in decoder devices of Satellite TV and made it to appear as if they were newly bought.

“The second bomber was caught at the Biu motor park. In fact, he was about to enter a bus that was already having passengers, when it was also discovered that he too had a decoder device in his hand and had a bomb concealed in it. Immediately he was beaten up but not killed; as he was later taken to the military barracks and handed over to the soldiers there” the resident

Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon reunite to spend Easter with their kids

Nothing reunites a broken up couple better than their kids. Singer Mariah Carey reunited with her ex husband Nick Cannon over the weekend to celebrate Easter with their kids. Pictured is the family egg hunting yesterday.

Pics: Kenyans donate blood for survivors of Garissa university attack

Hundreds of Kenyans have started donating blood to those who survived the Garrisa University massacre by Somali terrorist sect, Al Shabaab on April 2nd. More photos after the cut...

Photos courtesy of BBC Correspondent in Ethiopia, Emmanuel Igunza.

Honest airport cleaner received N12million from TREM yesterday?

According to this person, Josephine Ugwu, the honest airport cleaner who found and returned thousands of dollars to the owner was allegedly gifted through donations, 12million naira by TREM. She was honored yesterday at a church service at TREM but did she get N12m? Can anyone who attended that particular service or attends the Church confirm this?

How I met my husband at 27- Lagos First Lady shares her love story

Dame Abimbola Fashola says she met her husband, the Governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola at a party after his father introduced her to him. She shared their love story with City People mag...

"I met my husband at age 27. That was at my best friend's engagement then. I was serving and making sure everyone was okay and well taken care of, attending to people and all that. And then his father saw me and then said "I have a son and I will like you to meet my son. So I said no problem sir. He said good. My son will soon come in. When he came, we introduced ourselves. We met. We exchanged our numbers and that was it. We took it off from there. He was cool, he looked cool-headed. He was friendly. He had no airs about him. He was a simple fellow. He was already working then as a lawyer. He was at Sofunde, Belgore & Co. He clicked with my sisters too. He was always going to parties with them. He was bubbling with them. I didn't use to go to parties with them. Since my sisters accepted him, I had no choice but to accept him" she said

You will die if you fail to vote Ambode – Oba of Lagos threatens Igbos in Lagos

Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu has threatened Igbos in Lagos, saying any Ibo man or woman who fails to vote Lagos state APC governorship candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode as Governor in next Saturday’sgovernorship election will die within 7 days. According to Oba Akiolu, he owns Lagos and his bidding must be done by everyone in the state.
Daily Independent reports that Oba Akiolu gave out the threat when he met with Igbo leaders resident in Lagos at his Palace yesterday April 5th.

“On Saturday, if any one of you goes against Ambode who I picked, that is your end. If it doesn’t happen within seven days, just know that I am a bastard and its not my father who gave birth to me. By  the grace of God, I am the owner of Lagos for the time being. This is an undivided chair. The palace belongs to the dead and those coming in the future. On Saturday, if anyone of you, I swear in the name of God, goes against my wish that Ambode will be the next governor of Lagos state, the person is going to die inside this water.
For the Igbos and others in Lagos, they should go where the Oba of Lagos heads to. When they were coming to the state, they didn’t come with all their houses. But now they have properties in the state. So they must do my bidding. And that is the bidding of the ancestors of Lagos and God. I am not ready to beg you. Nobody knew how I picked Ambode. Jimi is my blood relation and I told him that he can never be governor in Lagos for now. The future belongs to God. I am not begging anybody, but what you people cannot do in Onitsha, Aba or anywhere you can not do it here.

If you do what I want, Lagos will continue to be prosperous for you, if you go against my wish, you will perish in the water. I am for the progress, growth and development in Lagos, Ambode is highly cerebral, he’s a symbol and he is going to deliver the message which I the Oba of Lagos have said. And he will govern the state for another eight years. He is going on a mission and God will give him the wisdom and knowledge to fulfill that mission. Almost a year ago, I declared that Ambode will be the next governor of Lagos and it will not change. From time immemorial, the previous occupiers  of this house will say what they wanted after consultation with other people. And this hasn’t change and it will not change at this time.” he allegedly said

I am not a miracle worker, Do not expect miracles – Buhari

President elect, Muhmmadu Buhari, has asked Nigerians not to expect him to perform miracles once he assumes power come May 29th. Gen Buhari said this while speaking on the war against Boko Haram in an interview with BBC. According to Buhari, the triumph against the sect members would not be immediately achieved once he gets into power but said with cooperation from Neighboring countries and the commitment of the military, the war would be won in a short time
“For five, six years, the Nigerian enforcement law agencies, including the military, couldn’t secure 14 Local Governments. How can I promise miracles when I come? But with the cooperation of our neighbours Cameroon, Chad, Niger and the international community, and the commitment we are going to get from the military, I think it will take us a much shorter time to deal with it”, he said.

Radio Talk Show host condemns rape jokes & the women who laugh at them

Apparently, comedian Akpororo made a distasteful joke on stage at the AY Live Show last night about a lady being raped, and some women laughed at it. Turns out it made some people really uncomfortable. This OAP with Nigerian Info FM had something to say about it. More after