The Osun State Police Command has rescued a 50-year-old herdsman, Haruna Yusuf, after a fierce gun duel with suspected kidnappers, recovering ₦2.217 million believed to be ransom proceeds during the operation.

The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, disclosed the development on Wednesday, saying the successful operation also foiled a planned ransom exchange and dealt a major blow to kidnappers operating in parts of the state.

According to Gotan, Yusuf was abducted on July 9, 2026, by four armed men from a remote settlement near Wasinmi Village along the Gbongan-Ife-Ibadan Road.

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He said police operatives, working alongside local vigilantes, immediately launched a search operation before transferring the case to the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) Anti-Kidnapping Section for intelligence-led investigation and tactical intervention.

The police commissioner explained that operatives monitored the ransom payment process on July 12 at a designated location in the Majeroku area along the Ibadan-Ife Expressway.

The operation turned into a gun duel after the kidnappers opened fire on the police team.

The officers returned fire, successfully rescuing the victim unharmed. One of the suspects sustained gunshot injuries and was arrested, while the remaining members of the gang fled into the surrounding forest.

“The injured suspect was immediately taken to the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital for medical treatment and is currently responding to treatment.

The sum of Two Million, Two Hundred and Seventeen Thousand, Eight Hundred Naira (₦2,217,800), being proceeds of the ransom, was recovered at the scene.

“Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the kidnapping gang terrorising the area,” Gotan said.

Meanwhile, the police command also recorded another breakthrough with the arrest of three suspected members of the Alora secret cult over alleged involvement in violent activities around Iree in Boripe Local Government Area.

The suspects, identified as Michael Oluwatobi, 23, Busayo Joseph, 22, and Abu Azeez, 23, were arrested on July 14, 2026.

Gotan said a thorough investigation had been ordered to determine the extent of their involvement and identify other members of the alleged criminal network.

President Bola Tinubu has approved a N3.6 billion intervention under the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to strengthen Nigeria’s informal sector, with about 200,000 artisans expected to benefit from the 2026 Skill-Up Artisans (SUPA) programme.

The initiative, which will initially focus on tailors through a business incubation scheme, is designed to enhance technical skills, promote entrepreneurship, create jobs and improve the competitiveness of Nigerian artisans.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Industrial Training Fund, Dr. Afiz Ogun, announced the development on Wednesday in Abuja during the screening of applicants for the programme.

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According to him, the nationwide screening exercise is the first phase of the 2026 edition and is intended to ensure that only qualified and practicing artisans are selected through document verification and practical skill assessments.

“For this year, we are incubating businesses for tailors because they constitute a large number of participants. The President has approved N3.6bn for this initiative,” Ogun said.

He explained that the programme was introduced after the Federal Government observed that artisans from neighbouring African countries, as well as Bangladesh, Pakistan and China, were filling opportunities that could be occupied by skilled Nigerians.

Ogun stressed that the screening process would prevent individuals posing as artisans from benefiting from the scheme.

“We are screening them because some people will say they are artisans, but they are not artisans. Some people just want to come and collect the Federal Government money and go. They will not participate in the training.
“We want real artisans who are ready to scale up and improve their skills,” he said.

The ITF boss noted that the initiative would also formalise Nigeria’s informal technical workforce through a certification and licensing system, allowing customers to verify the credentials of artisans before engaging their services.

“The President wants Nigerian artisans to be trained, certified and licensed. When you engage a plumber or an electrician, you should be able to verify the person’s credentials, track performance and hold them accountable. This will improve service quality and create confidence in the sector,” Ogun stated.

He further disclosed that the government had discontinued the previous practice of handing out starter packs immediately after training because many beneficiaries sold the equipment instead of using them to establish businesses.

Rather than distributing tools outright, beneficiaries will now be prepared for overseas employment through talent export programmes, linked directly with employers or enrolled in structured business incubation schemes to help them build sustainable enterprises.

“Our extension workers, who have been trained by the International Labour Organisation, will continue to support them after the training. Technical teams will also help them maintain and repair their equipment where necessary,” Ogun added.

Under the tailoring incubation programme, participants will receive industrial sewing machines, overlock machines, specialised stitching equipment, electric cutters, consumables, business signboards, mentorship and entrepreneurship support.

The programme will also feature a digital marketplace where certified artisans can display their services, attract customers, receive ratings and connect directly with clients.

According to the ITF, the initiative is expected to improve the quality of services provided by artisans, increase their earnings and contribute to reducing unemployment across the country.

The National Industrial Court has dealt a major setback to the Federal Government by nullifying its policy requiring education directors to retire after serving eight years in office, ruling that teachers and education officers are entitled to remain in service until they attain the age of 65 or complete 40 years of pensionable service.

Justice O. Y. Anuwe delivered the judgment in Abuja on July 10, holding that circulars issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education were inconsistent with the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.

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The court ruled that the circulars were invalid to the extent that they sought to enforce the eight-year tenure rule on teachers and education officers serving as directors.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Anuwe declared: “A Teacher or Education Officer, whether he or she got to the post of Director or not, is entitled to retire from service on attaining 65 years of age or 40 years of service.”

He further held that:”Serving as a director for eight years is not a retirement condition for teachers any longer.”

The suit, marked NICN/ABJ/79/2025, was filed by Mrs. Rakiya Gambo Iliyasu, a Grade Level 17 Director in the University Education Department of the Federal Ministry of Education.

Iliyasu challenged the February 2026 directives issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education, arguing that as an Education Officer, she qualified as a teacher under the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.

She contended that the law guarantees compulsory retirement only upon attaining the age of 65 years or after completing 40 years of pensionable service, making the government’s retirement directives unlawful.

Agreeing with the claimant, Justice Anuwe held that Section 3 of the Teachers’ Retirement Age Act expressly exempts teachers from any Public Service Rule requiring retirement before the age of 65 years or 40 years of pensionable service.

The judge also relied on the Act’s definition of a teacher, which expressly includes Education Officers, holding that the claimant fell squarely within the category of officers protected by the law.

The court further observed that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had, in an earlier 2025 correspondence, acknowledged that education officers covered by the Act were exempt from the eight-year tenure policy, making the government’s subsequent issuance of retirement directives inconsistent with its earlier position.

Consequently, the court declared the February 10, 2026 circular issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the February 24 and February 26, 2026 circulars issued by the Federal Ministry of Education illegal, null and void insofar as they applied to teachers and education officers.

Justice Anuwe also set aside the three circulars and granted a perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government and the Ministry of Education from implementing the eight-year tenure policy against teachers and education officers in a manner inconsistent with the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act.
The dispute arose after the Federal Government directed that directors who had spent eight years in office should retire in line with Rule 020909 of the Public Service Rules, despite the enactment of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, which extended the retirement age of teachers in public educational institutions to 65 years or 40 years of pensionable service.

The judgment is expected to have significant implications for director-level education officers across the Federal Ministry of Education and other education-related federal agencies, as it affirms that the provisions of the Teachers’ Retirement Age Act override the eight-year tenure rule in the Public Service Rules for officers protected under the law.