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‘I went to jail 40 times in six years’
This boldness and self-confidence are amazing. He talks tough in spite of his condition as a blind man. His glowing dark skin combines with the artificial gold teeth in his mouth to reinforce his self-assurance.
On his neck, a golden crucifix dangles on his branded white T-shirt on which T.H.U.G.G. is inscribed. But behind this flamboyant image of Bishop Renold Bell, an African-American, is a life of drug trafficking and addiction from which he transitioned into missionary activities.
He said: ”My name is Bishop Renold Bell. I want you to publish my story to the world that drugs or crime does not pay. I am now a motivational speaker going from communities to churches, preaching against the use of drugs.
“I am a musician and also a publisher. I have published some books, among which is T.H.UG.G Journey, where I wrote about my life. I have been to jail 40 times as a result of drug addiction, women battering, fighting, gun charges and many more.
”I was born on December 26, 1972 in New York, and I am the only child of my parents, Gerald Price and Miriam. I went into drugs early in life. My mother died at age 22 when I was barely six years old. She died from
alcohol consumption.
”It was my father who introduced my mother to alcohol. The two were alcoholics on the streets of Queens, New York. I did not know my father as such because since age 11, I have not seen him till now.
“The last time I saw my father was in 1984 during my grandmother’s funeral. What really shocked me was that when I saw my daddy walk through the church doors to pay respects to grandma, I didn’t know how he knew that she had passed away.
“He did not look clean like others and was smelling alcohol. That was the last time I saw him till this day. And do you know that my father did not know I was shot and now blind or that he has grandchildren? I suffer mentally and spend everyday thinking whether my father is alive or dead.”
Bell also spoke about his mother whom he said he only knew faintly, saying “When I was six years old, my grandmother asked whether I would attend a funeral where family and friends gathered to view the remains of someone who was never leaving this world and I might not see her again. She also said that that would be the last time I would see my mother.
“I was confused because I didn’t understand it was my mother whom I saw. She looked as if she was just sleeping, and that was the last time I would see her.”
Summarising his relationship with his parents, he said he didn’t know a lot about his younger life “except how they (parents) had me posted up at liquor stores. I would always see liquor bottles in my baby pic.”
Bell said he did not complete his high school. ”In fact, I had only six months to go, but I would rather hang out in the streets with my friends, drinking, smoking, and having a good time with the girls and selling drugs.
“I became Chris Bell, the ‘Stickup man’ as I continued my nefarious activities. In the beginning of April 1991, I held up a man on Calhoun Street, dug my hand into his pocket and asked him to give me his money and then fled to a friend’s place.
“The guy I held followed me. He called the police, who surrounded the house to prevent me from escaping. The lady of the house let them in, and they found 38 special guns in the house.
“But it wasn’t linked to me, because I never pulled out a gun to rob the man. But I went to jail for battery.
“At another time my friend Cedric and I robbed a drug house. But when we couldn’t find the drug money, we decided to take the two big concert speakers that I knew could bring some money. I sold the speakers.”
How I was shot in the eye at 18
Bell recalled how as an 18-year-old, his inebriated self requested his friend to shoot at him and he was shot in the eye.
He said: “I blame alcohol to this day as I allowed it to alter my mind and I asked my friend to shoot me.
“Alcohol is no one’s friend. And how stupid I was to get drunk on April 25, 1991 and asked a friend to shoot me.
”I was shot in the eye at age 18 over drugs money. We argued over the money realised from drug business, and the guy, Cedric, asked me for his own share of the money.
“I was drunk and laughing. I said to him, ‘Hold up! Don’t be fronting me like that. I’m going to pay you.’ But my friend hollered, ‘I’m going to get half of what you sold!’
“I declined and said I would give him twenty now and twenty later, after I had flipped the cocaine to make some more money.
“Already, I knew I was the get-paid man, so I already knew that he would agree to what I was saying. But he took offence to how I was going to break him off.
“In annoyance, he asked me to pack my clothes and my other stolen merchandise and leave his house just because I wouldn’t pay him at once. So I was upset, because he knew I had nowhere to go.
“So I said it’s like you want to shoot me or something, and he replied that it wasn’t a bad idea. I told him, ‘Then you can shoot me; get your gun and shoot me’.
”To my chagrin, my friend went into his room and brought out a 12-gauge pump shotgun. Then I said, ‘You really have a gun?’ He replied in the affirmative. I said, ‘Well, use it! Shoot me!’ and he pulled the trigger.
“But the gun was on safety. I yelled at him that my name is Chris Bell, I am not scared. Then I was 18 and he was 17. He pulled out the gun, I asked him to shoot me, and I heard gboooooo. That was 32 years ago.
“The next thing I remember was waking up at the hospital after six weeks in coma. Thereafter, I could not see anymore. I was in coma for six weeks and my head was swollen like a pumpkin. I thought I was going to die.
“When I woke up from coma and asked where I was and I was told what had happened to me, I began to recollect every detail of the story from friend to drug money and when I asked him to shoot me.”
Bell said he did not realise the severity of his blindness until he wanted to watch the Chicago Bull Championship game.
He said: ”On the day of Chicago Bull, Lisa, my pregnant wife, was in hospital room with me and I told her to turn on the television in order to watch the game, but she said the television was on.
“I told her to bring it closer because I couldn’t see it. She did, and I told her to tune into another channel, yet everything was totally dark.’’
Life as a blind man
He narrated how difficult it is to live without his sight, saying: ”Living with blindness was stressful and frustrating. I would wake up in the morning ready to eat when everybody was asleep. I became a burden.
“My family members were helping me to dress up. But I could eat on my own.”
Bell said he started eating bags of carrots, believing nutritionists who say that carrots can make one regain one’s sight.
”After a whole year of eating carrots with no signs of improvement, I removed carrots from my diet and started taking marijuana with the belief that I could regain my vision. But the marijuana didn’t last too long because all it did was to make me paranoid”
Asked what became of his friend who shot and blinded him, he said: ”The guy who shot me was 17 years old then. He went to jail but was later freed.
Asked whether he later met the man that shot him, Bell said he was on his way to Ozzie’s Club one day when he heard his friend’s voice calling him.
“The voice said, ‘Chris, come here’. The voice sounded so familiar. When I asked who was calling, the caller replied Cedric. It was the guy that shot me.
“We started chatting. “We drove to a liquor store and I bought a beer for him. We spent a couple of hours together but I didn’t bring up the shooting matter.
“But he told me that he was sentenced to 15 years but only served two and a half years.’’
I went to jail 40 times
When asked how many times Chris went to jail, he began by counting on his finger tips… ”91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96… I went to jail 40 times within six years.
“Before I got shot, I robbed a man. I saw him on the street, picked his pocket and started running. I was caught and jailed.
“I went to jail 40 times within six years before I met Christ; from misconduct and stealing to handgun and doing drugs. While I was blind,
I was still using a gun.
“I was thinking crazy. I had a gun and could shoot. If I heard your voice, I would target where the voice came from.
“I went to jail when I beat my girlfriend. I was crazy. Even when I was blind, I was still doing all those things: stealing, selling drugs
and fighting.
“The judge did not care whether I was blind. I never thought a blind man could go to jail but I went.”
My main message now is humility. Without humility, you cannot change your life. Accept Jesus Christ as your saviour.
“My message to everybody in the United States and Africa is humility. That is why I am sharing my story. I am now a motivational speaker, speaking the truth and realities of life.
The Bishop said he is married to a Ghanaian.
He said: ”My family is in Ghana. I married a lady who already had three children. I met the lady on Facebook. I went to Ghana to meet her and I will soon go back to Ghana to see my lover.”
Despite being blind, Bell did not stop committing crime.
He said: ”In 1992, I went to jail for punching a bouncer in the face at the club. I thought I would not be in trouble being a blind man, but I was wrong. I was charged to court and the Judge sentenced me to 60 days in the Allen County jail.
“But my 30 days among the criminals was hell as some of the inmates were serving 60 years in jail. There was fighting, yelling and a lot of criminal activities where they were locked up.
“When I left jail, I went into drug business again. I would wait till end of the month when I would collect Social Security cheque of 200 dollars in order to turn it to 400 dollars and hereby buy dope.
“But I got cheated because of my blindness, as they give me less than what I was supposed to make. I got ripped off… I stopped using pager because people would hear my voice.
“I put up with a sister whom I paid 150 dollars per month out of my 400. I was happy because I could sell dope and drink, so I didn’t need to talk to a pager and call or receive calls from customers.
“Here I met a lady named Vette, who became my girlfriend. Although I had a two-year-old son and she was three months pregnant with another man when I met her, that didn’t stop me from loving her. We loved each other.
”I went to jail again when two of my friends were fighting and a police was called but one of my friends handed a metal in my hands. When I felt what it was, it was a gun.
“I dropped it on the ground and it fell on our feet. The police arrested me over the gun, and since I had a bad reputation, I was charged and I went to jail again. The Judge gave me 90 days and a fine.
”When my old girlfriend Vette drove me around and I sold drugs, I kept the money with her. The following day, I found that she was spending the money I had given her with another man. I was mad.
“So I called Tommy, my cousin, to pick me up. I had a gun and my cousin was not aware. He took me to Vette to talk. I knocked on her door but she didn’t let me in. So I pulled out my gun and fired shots through the window.
“The police were looking for me everywhere, and I knew I had to leave Indiana.
“I started going to church because the only things that are hit in church are drums, clappings and beautiful voices and singing.
“In the church I narrated my story. I moved into my friend Terrance Cole’s place. He was once shot in the head with a .22 revolver that rendered him paralysed in his right hand and leg.
“My name became popular and my story made headlines in newspapers like ‘If you let me live , I’ll serve you’, Ex drug dealer is now blind THUGG IV Christ, Pavement pounding gives way to national TV spot’.
“I was featuring a once-in-a-month show called Examine Yourself Live. This time, I began to feel for Cedric who shot me. I started defending him when the media asked questions about him.
“I also went to the Judge to have him set free. Examine Yourself was hot that month because people didn’t want to see me help him. But I went as far as visiting him in jail for encouragement. I told him that I was on his side and that it was part of my project CPT (Change People Today).
“I did what I believed was right, and because of that, God, through my forgiveness, started opening more doors for me by giving me the chance to speak to communities and church groups”.
Credit: The Nation
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the decision by Starlink to unilaterally review its subscription packages upwards did not receive the approval of the commission.
In a statement signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka said the action of the company is in contravention of Sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, and Starlink’s Licence Conditions regarding tariffs.
The Commission commenced pre-enforcement action on the licensee on the 3rd of October, 2024.
The Federal Government has announced that it will commence implementation of the $750m World Bank-funded rural electricity project in November.
It said the project will provide over 17.5m Nigerians with new or improved access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise daily programme on Thursday.
Recall that in December 2023, the World Bank announced the approval of Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, being financed by $750m International Development Association credit and would leverage over $1bn of private capital and significant parallel financing from development partners.
The financing from development partners includes $100m from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and $200m from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Other development partners collaborating on the programme include the United States Agency for International Development, the German Development Agency, SEforAll, and the African Development Bank.
But 10 months after its approval, the REA MD noted that the project would begin implementation next month without stating reasons for the delay.
He explained that three million anticipated beneficiaries would be connected through the isolated mini-grid, 1.5 million Nigerians through the inter-connected mini-grip, and 12 million would be electrified using a merged grid and solar stand-alone system.
Aliyu said, “There is a new project that we are starting next month called the Distributed Renewable Energy Scale-up project which is a $750 million financed by the World Bank.”
“The target of that project is to electrify 17.5 million Nigerians, and I must say that this is one of the most ambitious projects in the world based on my understanding from India that has moved many unelectrified people to have access to electricity.
“Three million of them through the isolated mini-grid, 1.5 million Nigerians through the interconnected mini grip, 12 million would be electrified using a merged grid and solar stand-alone system.”
Aliyu further said the project is estimated to last for five years and was built on successes recorded from similar projects in the past which cost $550 million and were funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order barring the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (otherwise known as VIO) from further stopping vehicles on the road, impounding or confiscating vehicles, and imposing fines on motorists.
Justice Evelyn Maha issued the order in a judgment on a fundamental rights enforcement suit: FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023 filed by a human rights activist and public interest attorney, Abubakar Marshal.
Also affected by the order are the Director of Road Transport; the Area Commander, Jabi, and the Team Leader, Jabi, and the Minister of the FCT, also listed as respondents.
In the judgment delivered on Wednesday, October 2, Justice Maha upheld Marshal’s argument that no law empowers respondents to stop, impound, confiscate, seize, or impose fines on motorists.
The judge declared that the first to the 4th respondents, who are under the control of the 5th respondent (Minister of the FCT) are not empowered by any law or statute to stop, impound, or confiscate the vehicles of motorists and or impose fines on motorists.
She proceeded to issue an order restraining the 1st to 4th respondents either through their agents, servants, and or assigns from impounding, confiscating the vehicle of motorists, and or imposing a fine on any motorist as doing so is wrongful, oppressive, and unlawful by themselves.
Justice Maha further made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents whether by themselves, agents, privies, allies or anybody acting on behalf of the 1st respondent from further violating the rights of Nigerians to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence and right to own property without lawful justification.
Folashodun Shonubi, a witness in the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele, told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday that the naira redesign policy did not follow standard procedure.
Shonubi, a former CBN Acting Governor, said there were intrigues and politics around the 2022 redesign policy.
The former Deputy Governor (Operations) said: “When we had meetings with the defendant (Emefiele), he said there were politics and intrigues around the whole exercise.”
Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness said the redesigned naira notes produced by the CBN under Emefiele were not the same as those approved by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the memo presented to the president for the redesign was solely prepared by Emefiele.
Shonubi said the normal procedure was for the Currency Management Department to recommend a redesign, after which a paper would be submitted to the Committee of Governors (COG) for consideration.
Upon the COG’s approval, the CBN Board would make a recommendation to the President.
The witness said after the President’s approval was received, the bank would then set up an internal committee to execute the currency redesign.
Shonubi, a member of both the COG and CBN Board, told the court that Emefiele killed the recommendation made in early 2021 by the bank’s Currency Department for a redesign.
He said: “The CBN did not follow the procedures (for redesigning the currency). I was a member of the CBN Board as Deputy Governor.
“The chairman of both the COG and board was the governor. In early 2021, the Currency Department recommended the redesign of the currency notes.
“A paper was presented to me and on the instruction of the governor (Emefiele). It was stepped down.
“In 2022, we again represented the paper and were asked to hold on.
“In mid-October 2022, the Deputy Governors were invited to a meeting in the office of the Governor where he (Emefiele) informed us that he had presidential approval for currency redesign.
“He showed us the memo, Mr President’s signature and instruction on the last page.”
Shonubi said under cross-examination by ace defence counsel Olalekan Ojo (SAN) that he was not aware of the discussions between the defendant and the former President over the redesign policy.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is trying Emefiele on a four-count charge of illegal acts causing public injury.
He pleaded not guilty.
Justice Maryanne Anenih adjourned till Tuesday.
The Senate yesterday summoned the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, over the deplorable condition of the Old Oyo-Ogbomosho Road.
The resolution of the Senate’s consideration of a motion of urgent public importance was moved by Senator Buhari Abdulfatai (APC – Oyo-North), who drew his colleagues’ attention to the worsening condition of the road.
Abdulfatai said the road, a major link between the South and North, had caused untold hardship for travellers, most of who were frequently stranded due to the poor state of the road.
For over 10 years after the Federal Government began major repairs on the road, Buhari said it had remained deplorable, causing regular accidents and daily gridlock by articulated vehicles.
Buhari in his lead debate underscored the im portance of good roads, saying apart from preventing avoidable accidents, it makes movement of goods and services easy.
He said: “The Senate is aware that transportation ensures stable prices in different markets and enables traders to regulate the supply of goods at locations, based on changing demands.’’
President Bola Tinubu will on Wednesday depart Abuja for the United Kingdom to begin a two-week vacation.
The vacation is “part of his yearly leave,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed in a statement he signed Wednesday.
The statement is titled ‘President Tinubu goes on annual leave.’
“He will use the two weeks as a working vacation and a retreat to reflect on his administration’s economic reforms.
“He will return to the country after the leave expires,” the statement read in part.
Sources close to the President had confirmed to our correspondent that Tinubu was taking the two-week break as part of his annual leave.
Wednesday’s trip comes two weeks after the President returned from London where he met with King Charles III.
The UK becomes Tinubu’s 27th foreign destination since he assumed office about 16 months ago and his fourth trip to the country.
So far, he has visited Equatorial Guinea, London (four times), the United Kingdom (twice); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Norvo, Benin Republic; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar.
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