The Delta State House of Assembly has passed an executive bill seeking to institutionalise the payment of a 13th-month salary to public servants in the state.

The bill, which was passed during Tuesday’s plenary, is expected to provide statutory backing for the annual payment of the additional salary and give public servants greater certainty over the welfare package.

The Assembly described the development as a major milestone in workers’ welfare, noting that the legislation would strengthen the state government’s commitment to improving the wellbeing of its workforce.

The passage followed the third reading of the bill during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Emomotimi Dennis Guwor.

Before consideration of the bill, the House suspended the relevant standing orders to enable its immediate passage.

The motion for the suspension was moved by the Leader of the House, Hon. Emeka Nwaobi, and was subsequently adopted by members.

Speaking shortly after the passage, Guwor commended lawmakers for what he described as a bold step towards strengthening workers’ welfare in Delta State.

He said the Assembly had once again demonstrated that the primary purpose of government was the security and welfare of the people.

According to him, the legislation reflected the state government’s commitment to the wellbeing of public servants and further reinforced the administration’s worker-friendly policies.

“The passage of the bill further affirmed the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as a welfare-oriented and worker-friendly government.

“The payment of the 13th-month salary to public servants in Delta State has come to stay,” the Speaker said.

Guwor expressed confidence that the policy would improve workers’ morale, increase productivity and contribute to better service delivery across the state.

He also commended Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for initiating the welfare policy, describing it as a significant gesture in recognition of the contributions of public servants to the development of Delta State.

Earlier, while presenting the report of the House Committee on Establishment, Ethics and Privileges, the committee chairman, Hon.

Edafe Emakpo, explained that the proposed law was designed to establish a legal framework for the policy.

He said institutionalising the payment would provide public servants with greater assurance and certainty while contributing to improved morale, productivity and overall wellbeing.

The legislation is therefore expected to give stronger institutional backing to the annual payment of the additional salary, enhance the welfare package available to workers and encourage greater commitment to public service delivery.

The development comes as state governments across Nigeria continue to introduce measures aimed at improving the welfare and productivity of public servants amid rising economic pressures.

With the passage of the bill, the 13th-month salary policy in Delta State is set to move from an executive welfare initiative to a legally backed policy, subject to the remaining legislative and constitutional requirements before it becomes operational as law.

A French court has sentenced a father to six months in prison for threatening to behead a teacher at his nine-year-old son’s school in the southwestern town of Le Fauga.

The defendant, whose name was not disclosed, made the threats against the 58-year-old female teacher after his son was moved to another class because of his behaviour.

He confronted the teacher in the school car park last week and allegedly threatened to “cut off the head” of the woman. He later entered the school and repeated the threats in the presence of the headteacher.

The incident has drawn particular concern in France because of the country’s recent history of violence against teachers, including the 2020 murder of history and geography teacher Samuel Paty.

Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old radical Islamist of Chechen origin after the teacher had shown his students caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed during a lesson on freedom of expression.

During a hearing in Toulouse on Thursday, the father’s lawyer acknowledged the seriousness of his client’s conduct but urged the court to assess him as a father rather than through the lens of his Muslim religious beliefs.

The court, however, sentenced the man to six months in prison without parole, with the sentence to take effect immediately.

The punishment was tougher than the six-month sentence under electronic monitoring requested by the public prosecutor.

Presiding Judge Fabrice Rives described the threats as “extremely disturbing”, saying they could only refer to a current event that had, unfortunately, remained in the minds of people across France.

In addition to the prison sentence, the father must complete a citizenship course within six months of his release.

He has also been prohibited from contacting the teacher or entering the school premises for three years.

During the hearing, the defendant apologised for his conduct, saying he had not realised the seriousness of his remarks.

He described himself as “very, very protective of his children” and insisted that he was not naturally a violent person.

The teacher’s lawyer, Jocelyn Momasso-Momasso, said his client had been traumatised by the incident and was currently on sick leave.

According to the lawyer, the teacher remained uncertain about whether she would return to the classroom.

“She told me: ‘I didn’t sign up for this’,” the lawyer said.

The case has renewed concerns about threats and intimidation directed at teachers in France, particularly in the aftermath of the killing of Paty, whose death became a major national debate over freedom of expression, education and security.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for their involvement in the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, rejecting pleas for leniency from the defence.

The convicts, Abdulrazak Umar (also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (also known as Yunusa bin Musa) and Shamsu Adamu Sani (also known as Abu Itisar) — had pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges brought against them by the Federal Government.

During the sentencing hearing, defence counsel urged the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the defendants had admitted their crimes, expressed remorse and deserved a second chance.

The lawyer also told the court that the convicts were responsible for the welfare of their wives, children and elderly parents, asking the judge to impose a lighter sentence.

Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the request for leniency, ruling that the seriousness of the offences warranted a life sentence.

The judge ordered that the life imprisonment terms would take effect from the exact date of the convicts’ arrest, ensuring that the time already spent in custody would count toward the sentence.

The three men were prosecuted in connection with the May 2026 attack on schools in Oriire LGA, where dozens of pupils and teachers were abducted by suspected terrorists linked to the Ansaru group before they were rescued in a joint security operation weeks later.

The ruling is one of the first major convictions arising from the high-profile Oriire school abduction, an incident that sparked nationwide concern over the spread of terrorist activities into Nigeria’s South-West.

The judgment underscores the Federal Government’s efforts to prosecute individuals linked to terrorism and mass kidnappings through the judicial process.

The conviction sends a strong signal that terrorism and school abductions will continue to attract severe legal consequences.

It also highlights the role of the courts in complementing security operations aimed at tackling kidnapping and terrorism across Nigeria.