News
China executes man who killed 35 in car rampage
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.
By Gloria Ikibah
The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has revealed that it saved Nigeria a total of N1.9 trillion by reviewing procurement processes and verifying contract sums from 2009 to 2023.
The Director-General, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, stated during a budget defense session with the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement on Monday in Abuja.
He said that beyond the direct savings, the bureau’s compliance mechanisms have also played a role in boosting revenue by ensuring bidders are up-to-date on their tax, pension, and social security payments before participating in any procurement process.
However, the Director-General expressed concern over the budgetary ceiling imposed on the agency, which he feared could undermine this and other strategies designed to enhance the system.
During the budget planning process, the Bureau requested N72,775,250,713, but the Budget Office allocated only N3,283,021,838, excluding the Personnel budget of N649,558,451.59.
Regarding the 2024 budget performance, he noted that N2,234,785,641 was allocated, with N2,110,061,164 utilized. However, the capital allocation of N289,418,688 was insufficient to achieve significant reforms or address the core mandates needed for effective contract administration. So far, only N184,024,690 of the capital expenditure allocation has been released.
For the 2025 budget, Adedokun highlighted the agency’s focus on addressing office accommodation needs, improving project monitoring and evaluation across the country, implementing an electronic procurement system, and enhancing capacity building.
While thanking the Committee for its continued support, he appealed for additional funding to help the Bureau meet its objectives.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, to stop making disparaging remarks about Nigeria.
The Nigerian-born politician, sparked controversy in 2024 following repeated critical comments about her country of birth.
In her first address of the year at an event hosted by Onward, a British think tank focused on economic and social issues, Badenoch criticized Nigeria’s governance. She stated she did not want Britain to mirror what she described as Nigeria’s “terrible government,” which, in her words, “destroys lives.”
Emphasizing the need for reform and trust-building in governance, Badenoch argued that the Conservative Party was the right choice to steer the UK away from such pitfalls. She warned that without significant changes, Britain could risk adopting systemic flaws similar to those she attributed to Nigeria.
The remarks prompted a response from Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Communications. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bwala urged Badenoch to avoid using Nigeria as a rhetorical tool to gain favor with her political base.
“I truly wish that sister Kemi Badenoch would avoid denigrating Nigeria, the country of her origin, as a weapon to please her far-right base,” Bwala wrote. He drew a parallel with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, noting that Sunak had never criticized India, his ancestral home, to gain political advantage.
Bwala praised Badenoch’s intelligence and political accomplishments but expressed disappointment over her negative rhetoric about Nigeria. “She is smart, intelligent, and we are proud of her rise in UK politics, but we are equally saddened by her terrible rhetoric against Nigeria,” he added.
This development underscores ongoing tensions surrounding the portrayal of Nigeria on international platforms, particularly by individuals with ties to the country. It raises broader questions about the balance between constructive criticism and national pride in political discourse.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to stop conducting by-elections in the country as such by-elections only lead to unnecessary and wasteful spending of funds.
Falana who made the call in a statement on Sunday, argued that since votes recorded during elections belong to political parties, the replacement of elected candidates as a result of death or resignation should not call for a by-election. “The political parties that sponsored the candidates that die or resign should be directed to fill the vacancy by nominating another candidate,” the lawyer said. He also urged the National Assembly to amend the electoral act to allow parties to replace elected officers without resorting to by-elections.
“The National Assembly should therefore amend the Electoral Act to allow political parties to replace elected public officers who lose their positions as a result of death, resignation or impeachment.
By virtue of Section 221 of the Nigerian Constitution, elections are won by political parties and not by candidates. “In the case of Amaechi vs. INEC & Ors (2 008) LCN/3642 (SC), the Supreme Court held that “The above provision (i.e.Section 221) effectually removes the possibility of independent candidacy in our elections, and places emphasis and responsibility in elections on political parties. Without a political party, a candidate cannot contest
“In his own contribution to the judgment, Pius Olayiwola Aderemi JSC (of blessed memory) emphatically stated that “…it is the political parties that the electorates do vote for at election time. “In P D.P. v. I.N.E.C. (1999)7SC (PT II) 30, Mr. Boni Haruna was allowed to be the governor of Adamawa State following the resignation of the elected governor, Mr Atiku Abubakar, who had been nominated as Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party. “For some inexplicable reasons, the Independent National Electoral Commission changed the law when it decided to conduct an additional election after the death of Mr. Audu Abubakar who had emerged the Governor of Kogi State,” he said.
How BPP Saved Nigeria N1.9 Trillion in 15 Years – DG
Presidency Slams Kemi Badenoch’s Insultive Remarks About Nigeria
BREAKING: Falana Declares INEC Should Stop Conducting By-Elections
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