… as lawmakers demand urgent action

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives  has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to instruct the Minister of Finance to fully release the 2024 capital allocation to the security and intelligence sector. This appeal was made in the interest of bolstering national security.

Chairman Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Rep. Ahmed Satomi expressed concern over the inadequate capital allocations to intelligence agencies, during a budget defense session for agencies under the Office of the National Security Adviser on Monday in Abuja.

While acknowledging the significant overall allocation to the security sector, he lamented the chronic underfunding of the intelligence subsector and promised that the Committee would explore avenues to increase its budget.

The session involved key agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser, Directorate of State Services (DSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Presidential Air Fleet, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), National Counter Terrorism Centre, and the National Cybercrimes Coordination Centre.

Satomi stressed the need for collective action to ensure the safety and welfare of Nigerians. He noted the Committee’s commitment to ensuring these critical agencies are adequately equipped to fulfill their mandates effectively and responsibly.

He commended President Tinubu’s presentation of the N49.7 trillion 2025 budget, for allallocating N4.91 trillion to the defense and security sector, which underscores the administration’s emphasis on secsecurity. He however, decried the insufficient funding allocated to intelligence.

Naijablitznews.com reports that the  intelligence subsector received N595 billion, with N274.55 billion proposed for capital expenditure, N107.96 billion for overheads, and N212.51 billion for personnel costs, Rep. Satomi said that these figures fall short of the resources required to meet the sector’s critical needs.

He highlighted key concerns, including the lack of capital releases to the National Centre for Counter Terrorism, NISS, and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons. Similarly, the DSS and NIA face insufficient funding, hampering their ability to deliver on their mandates.

Satomi called on the President to not only increase allocations to intelligence agencies but also ensure the Finance Ministry prioritizes the full and timely release of budgeted funds. He described this as a matter of national security, critical to achieving peace and stability.

The Permanent Secretary for Special Services in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Sanusi Danjuma, added that the proposed budget is designed to address evolving security challenges.

He highlighted plans to improve coordination among security agencies, enhance intelligence gathering, upgrade infrastructure, and build the capacity of personnel to tackle emerging threats.

Danjuma acknowledged the constraints imposed by the envelope system of budgeting but assured lawmakers of the intelligence community’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and effective resource management to align with national security objectives.

By Francesca Hangeior

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) will on Tuesday, 4th February 2025 present the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) to the public.

The theme this year is ‘The Role of Early Warnings towards a Climate Resilient Aviation Industry for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development’.

NiMet predicts and publishes the expected annual pattern of climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature in Nigeria in the first quarter of each year.

This is in pursuance of its mandate of advising the Government and the public on all aspects of weather, climate, and water-related matters.

According to the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike; “The Seasonal Climate Prediction highlights vital Weather and Climate information that may affect socio-economic activities in the following sectors during the year: Agriculture, Aviation, Disaster Risk Management, Health, Oil & Gas, Telecommunication, Tourism, Transport (Water and Land), Power (hydro and renewable), Water Resources Management etc”.

“The socioeconomic implications of the expected rainfall and temperature patterns for some sectors of the economy are also presented in the publication”, Professor Anosike concluded.

The forecast information provided in the SCP document includes the onset and cessation dates of the 2025 rainy season; the length of the cropping season; the total amount of rainfall expected in all the 774 Local Government Areas of the Country; temperature (January – May) as well as Malaria and Meningitis vigilance forecast.

The Seasonal Climate Prediction document is a national document and the public presentation attracts guests from the public and private sectors, development partners, non-governmental organizations, the diplomatic community, farmers associations, etc.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo SAN, will perform the presentation of the publication alongside its summary for policymakers and translations in three (3) major Nigerian languages, and State of the Climate in Nigeria.

By Francesca Hangeior

China on Monday executed a man who killed 35 people in a car rampage in the southern city of Zhuhai in November 2024, in the country’s deadliest mass attack in years.

On November 11, Fan Weiqiu, 62, deliberately drove a small SUV through crowds of people exercising outside a sports complex, also injuring 45 in China’s worst such crime since 2014.

He was sentenced to death last month, with a court saying his motives “were extremely vile, (and) the nature of the crime extremely egregious.”

State broadcaster CCTV said Monday a Zhuhai court “executed Fan Weiqiu in accordance with the execution order issued by the Supreme People’s Court.”

The municipal public prosecutor “sent personnel to supervise (the execution) in accordance with the law,” CCTV reported.

Fan’s attack sparked widespread public shock and soul-searching in China about the state of society. He was detained at the scene with self-inflicted knife wounds and fell into a coma, police said at the time.

At his trial last month, Fan pleaded guilty in front of some of the victims’ families, officials and members of the public, state media said.

The court found he “decided to vent his anger” over “a broken marriage, personal frustrations and dissatisfaction with the division of property after divorce.”

It concluded that his methods were “particularly cruel, and the consequences particularly severe, posing significant harm to society”.

Violent crime is generally rarer in China than in many Western countries, but the country saw a string of mass casualty events last year.

Stabbings and car attacks challenged the ruling Communist Party’s reputation for strict public security and crime prevention.

They also carried a shock factor that led some to question perceived social ills such as frustration with a slowing economy, high unemployment and diminishing social mobility.

CCTV reported Monday that a separate court in eastern Jiangsu province had carried out the death penalty on a man who killed eight people and wounded 17 in a mass stabbing in November.

Xu Jiajin, a 21-year-old former student who attacked a vocational school in the city of Wuxi, was executed “in accordance with the law”, CCTV reported.

He too had been sentenced to death in December, with the court concluding that his crime was “extraordinarily serious”, CCTV said.

Xu was permitted to “meet with his close relatives” before his execution, the broadcaster added.

China classifies death penalty statistics as a state secret, but rights groups including Amnesty believe the country executes thousands every year.