By Our Correspondent

Former Benue State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. David Olofu, has emerged as the African Democratic Congress senatorial flagbearer for Benue South Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Dr. Olofu emerged as the consensus candidate of the party following primaries conducted across the nine local government areas of the district. His candidature was formally affirmed in Otukpo on Sunday.

Declaring the result, the ADC Returning Officer, Barr. Ogah Ekwu, said Dr. Olofu satisfied all constitutional requirements of the party and was unanimously endorsed across the zone.

“Dr. Olofu, having met all the requirements of the constitution of the party, is hereby returned as the sole candidate and duly elected ADC senatorial candidate for Benue South,” Ekwu stated.

In his acceptance remarks, Dr. Olofu described his emergence as a collective victory for the people of Benue South. He pledged to run an inclusive leadership that accommodates every interest and stakeholder in the district.

He stated that representation for the zone “shall no longer be a one-man show,” and announced plans to establish a “Benue South People’s Assembly” and a “Benue South People’s Council” to deepen consultation, unity, and collective decision-making.

The former commissioner said the protection of lives and communities would be his top priority if elected, noting that insecurity had continued to cripple the agricultural strength and economic potential of the district.

“As outlined in my blueprint, my first charge shall be the protection of our people. This will begin with restoring security to our communities and unlocking the full potential of our agricultural economy,” he said.

Dr. Olofu outlined his vision as building “a secure Benue South where lives and livelihoods are protected, a productive economy where agriculture and enterprise thrive, a strong educational system that prepares our children for the future, infrastructure that connects our communities and unlocks opportunities, and a government that is accountable, responsive, and people-centred.”

He assured party faithful that no bloc would be sidelined and stressed that unity, inclusion, and purposeful representation would define his senatorial ambition.

The declaration was witnessed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, and members of the press.

By Uthman-Baba Naseer,Minna

A total of forty eight inmates on death row (IDR), are currently languishing in two of the Custodial Centres in Minna,in Niger State without being executed, investigations have revealed.

Out of the inmates, twenty eight of them are in Minna old Medium Security Custodial Centre among them three women while twenty others are in Minna new Medium Security Custodial Centre in Tunga.

The inmates,according to our findings, have been awaiting execution in the last fifteen years without knowing their fates.

It was gathered that their long stay awaiting execution was attributed to the refusal of state governors to sign their death warrant.

Our Correspondent was told that the refusal of state governors to sign death warrants since the Democratic administration,was due to condemnation from some civil society organizations (CSOs) and condemnation from some international communities such as Amnesty International.

Investigation conducted by this reporter in two of the facilities in Minna,revealed that the inmates are behind the incessant jail break across the Custodial centres in some part of the country as a result of their overstay on awaiting execution without knowing when the execution would be carried out.

In most of the Correctional Custodies, these inmates on death row, due to their over stay at the facilities, create unprecedented havoc leading to jailbreak or security breach in the facilities.

“ Inmates on death row (IDR), are seriously posing a security threat to correctional Custody across the country. Whenever we record any reported case of jailbreak in any correctional centre they are behind it.

“Their stays in our facilities without knowing their fate, pose a grave security threat to facilities. Some of them were just kept here for years. We have some of them that stayed for the past twelve to fifteen years on death row.

“Keeping these inmates in our facilities without the governors doing anything concerning their execution,we are at the receiving end of their elongated stay without knowing their fate”. a correctional officer in one of the Custodial Centre in Minna told our Correspondent.

However, eleven Inmates on death row from Gaba Community in Lavun Local Goverment Area who were sentenced to death by a Minna High Court number six sometimes in 2024, by Justice Maimuna Abubakar, were unconditionally granted padorned by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago,

They were found guilty for killing eight farmers from Amfani Community in Gaba District of Lavun Local Government over Communal clashes between the two Communities of Amfani and Gaba.

Our findings further revealed that since the inception of Democratic dispensation in 1999, no State governor signed a death warrant for the execution of the inmates in their respective states.

It was reliably gathered that the only governor that signed the death warrant since the present Democratic dispensation was Senator Adams Oshiomole when he was a
governor of Edo State in 2003.

Speaking in an interview with Journalists in his office in Minna,the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Niger State,Alhaji Nasir Muazu Esq, explained that the refusal of the governor to sign the death warrant of the inmates was not deliberate.

He stated that the inmates have right of Appeal of their conviction from the High Court up to Appeal Court to Supreme Court.

“ I don’t want to believe that the governor deliberately refused to sign death warrant of inmates on death row as you called them. The reason is that they have right of Appeal their conviction from the High Court to Court of Appeal even up to Supreme Court.

“ They have to exhort their right of Appeal. If the Court of Appeal upheld their conviction, they can still go up to the Supreme Court to still challenge the decision of the Appeal Court. And they have many of such cases in the Apex court pending.

“So for you to say that the governors deliberately refused to sign death warrants of those inmates is not true” the Attorney General stated in an interview.

By Our Correspondent

Despite the lingering division in African Democratic Congress (ADC), the emergence of Dumebi Kachikwu as the presidential candidate of the factional ADC, has further exposed deep divisions within the party, as competing structures continue to lay claim to leadership and legitimacy ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Kachikwu, who was declared flag bearer at a convention held in Abuja by a faction of the party, pledged to run an issue-driven campaign focused on economic recovery, national unity, and inclusive governance. However, the event underscored ongoing internal disputes over control of the party’s national structure.

Speaking at the gathering organized by his factional bloc, Kachikwu described his emergence as a mandate for “national rescue,” insisting that Nigeria’s worsening economic and security conditions demanded urgent reform-oriented leadership.

He said the ADC must reposition itself as a platform for ideas rather than identity politics, arguing that political competition should be based on policy alternatives rather than internal power struggles or personality clashes.
“For too long, politics has benefited only a few while the majority of Nigerians continue to suffer. That must change,” he said, calling for a leadership culture rooted in accountability and competence.

The factional candidate also urged greater inclusion of young people and women in governance and stressed the need for public officials to be held accountable through reliance on the same public systems used by ordinary Nigerians.

However, the convention itself highlighted the party’s unresolved leadership crisis, with rival camps within the ADC maintaining conflicting claims over the control of the party’s national structure and decision-making authority.

While Kachikwu’s bloc presented the convention as a legitimate expression of party democracy and internal renewal, other factions within the ADC have continued to dispute the legality and recognition of the gathering, insisting that parallel structures undermine party unity.
Amid the tensions, party figures aligned with the Kachikwu bloc framed the event as a turning point, arguing that the ADC remains a viable opposition platform despite internal disagreements and political fragmentation.

The Chairman of ADC Chairmen, Kingsley Ogga, speaking at the convention, described the gathering as a demonstration of resilience, insisting that loyal members had sustained the party through periods of internal turbulence.

He acknowledged the existence of divisions but urged reconciliation, saying the party must prioritize unity, discipline, and inclusion if it is to remain relevant in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Similarly, the faction’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Mohammed Bashir, warned against what he described as attempts by certain individuals to monopolize the party’s leadership structure, insisting that internal disputes must be resolved strictly within constitutional provisions.

He, however, praised Kachikwu’s conduct amid the crisis, describing him as a calm and intellectual figure who has avoided escalating tensions despite the deepening internal rift.

Bashir called for dialogue and reconciliation across all camps, stressing that no political platform can survive prolonged internal fragmentation ahead of a major national election.

As the ADC moves closer to the 2027 polls, the emergence of parallel claims to legitimacy continues to raise questions about whether the party can present a united front or whether it will head into the election cycle divided along factional lines.