President Bola Tinubu has mourned the death of Justice Adam Ochume Onum, a former Chief Judge of Benue State, hailing him as an accomplished jurist whose work in the courts and public administration will endure. Onum died aged 73.
In a statement released on Friday, November 6, 2026, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the president conveyed condolences to Onum’s wife, Vivien, his family, the Benue State Judiciary, the Nigerian Bar Association and the Idoma people.
Quick facts
- Justice Adam Ochume Onum was 73 when he died.
- He was the first person of Idoma origin to become Chief Judge of Benue State since the state was established in 1976.
- His public career included service as Solicitor-General, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Benue State from 1988 to 1991.
- He joined the Benue State High Court in 1991 and spent more than 20 years on the bench before becoming Chief Judge.
Tinubu said Onum would also be remembered for helping to advance Benue State and Nigeria’s legal profession. The late judge started his working life at the Ministry of Justice in Akure, Ondo State, during his National Youth Service Corps placement after graduating from the University of Lagos.
He worked as a magistrate in Vandeikya from 1980 to 1982, before entering politics as a member of the Benue State House of Assembly in 1983.
Onum later founded Eko & Onum Chambers in Otukpo and practised as a lawyer. He subsequently held the posts of Solicitor-General, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the Benue State government between 1988 and 1991.
He was appointed to the Benue State High Court in 1991, beginning a judicial tenure that lasted more than two decades before his elevation to Chief Judge. His appointment was historic because no member of the Idoma ethnic group had previously held the office since Benue State’s creation in 1976.
“The passing of Hon. Justice Adam Ochume Onum is a profound loss to Benue State and our nation,” Tinubu said.
The president described Onum as a public servant who devoted his career to justice, saying his advancement to Chief Judge demonstrated his ability, experience and commitment to the law.
“His life reminds us that the true legacy of service is not simply the positions we occupy but the institutions we strengthen, the opportunities we create and the lives we positively touch,” Tinubu said.
Speaking for the Federal Government and Nigerians, the president again offered sympathy to the family, the judiciary and Benue residents. He prayed for Onum’s soul to rest in peace and for his relatives, professional colleagues and loved ones to receive strength in their bereavement.
