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The Osun State Government has said it has filed an application before the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to set aside the ex parte order restricting transactions on accounts operated by the state government over a $13.9 million arbitration award in favour of Gamji Nigeria Company Limited.

The government also assured the public that it had commenced necessary legal steps to vacate the order and protect the state’s interests through a judicial review of the arbitration award.

In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government described the order as having been obtained through what it called non-disclosure of material facts to the court.

According to the statement, the arbitration award Gamji sought to enforce was also allegedly affected by several irregularities, prompting the state government’s legal team to approach the Lagos State High Court to challenge the award.

The government said the ex parte order of September 9, 2026 referenced an alleged arbitral award, but maintained that no such award was made against the state government in July 2024.

It clarified that the only arbitral award against the state government was issued in July 2026 and that the award was already being challenged by the government before the Lagos State High Court.

The government traced the dispute to a 2017 contract awarded during the administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. It said the administration rejected a variation request by Gamji, particularly over the company’s claim that the state was indebted to it in the sum of $15,982,638.22.

The matter subsequently proceeded to arbitration, which the state government alleged was improperly handled in favour of Gamji, while the state was denied a fair hearing and full participation in the process.

The government said its legal team had already filed a suit at the Lagos State High Court on September 1, 2026, seeking to set aside the arbitral award before Gamji approached the Federal High Court.

It added that a motion on notice seeking to suspend enforcement of the award pending the determination of the suit was also filed and served on Gamji and its counsel.

According to the state government, Gamji was therefore aware that the award was being challenged before a competent court when it approached the Federal High Court to seek enforcement.

The government further alleged that Gamji failed to disclose to the Federal High Court that the validity of the award was already being challenged before the Lagos State High Court and that the company had been served with an application seeking to suspend enforcement pending the determination of the case.

The state government disclosed that it had also filed a motion on notice seeking to set aside the September 9 order and informed the Federal High Court of the circumstances surrounding the arbitration proceedings and the pending challenge.

It, however, said it would refrain from making further comments on the merits of the case because the matter remains sub judice.

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The 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped by gunmen in Imo State have allegedly been subjected to physical ass@ult by their captors, with the kidn@ppers reportedly reducing their ransom demand to N5 million per victim.

The graduates were abducted on Thursday while travelling from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. They were reportedly att@cked along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, while travelling in two buses.

A relative of one of the victims, Alhaja Alimot Akande, said the abd¥ctors initially demanded N50 million for each victim but had now reduced it to N5 million.

“They are still demanding N5 million. They have come down to N5 million each,” she said.

Akande also alleged that the abductors had started beating the victims, including the women.

When I spoke to my sister, they started beating them since yesterday,” she said.

Asked if the female victims were also being assaulted, she replied: “They are not sparing anybody. They are beating all of them.”

She said one victim was also allowed to speak with his father, with the abd¥ctors reportedly monitoring the calls to assess the family’s ability to raise the ransom.

Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government said it was working with the Imo State Government and security agencies to secure the victims’ release.

Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the government was drawing on its experience from the recent Oriire abduction to assist efforts in Imo State.

“Oyo State Government had not and will not abandon its citizens. We will continue to work endlessly and desperately to secure the release of our children,” he said.

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Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State, has been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of its newly inaugurated substantive Vice-Chancellor, Professor Carter Dike Umeoduagu, barely 48 hours after assuming office.

Umeoduagu was formally sworn in as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of the university on Thursday, October 1, 2026, marking the commencement of his tenure.

However, the professor reportedly took ill on Saturday, October 3, two days after his assumption of office, and subsequently died.

His sudden death has sent shock waves through the university community, particularly coming at a time when the institution has been facing leadership challenges.

The development is also coming amid recent controversy over the leadership of the university, including disputes surrounding the tenure of the former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eugene Okoye Nwadialor, and the emergence of an acting leadership structure.

The death of Umeoduagu, coming almost immediately after his formal assumption of office, has added a tragic dimension to the university’s recent leadership crisis.

Details of the circumstances surrounding his illness and death were not immediately available as of the time of filing this report.

The university community, academics, colleagues, family members and associates are expected to mourn the deceased academic and administrator, whose tenure as Vice-Chancellor ended almost as soon as it began.