After the 8th Day Firdaus prayer held at Odolu, the hometown of late Hon. Justice Yahaya Adamu in Igalamela-Odolu LGA of Kogi State last Saturday, more supplications have continued to pour for the repose of the soul of the astute and copious jurist whose death occured a fortnight ago.
He died as a serving Judge of the High Court of Justice of the state at the age of 62 after a brief illness.
His Ganaja home residence in Lokoja, the state capital, was yesterday, Saturday, 18th April, 2026, filled with Judges, Kadis, Management members and staff of the Judiciary who were joined by Islamic clerics,
distinguished government functionaries, opinion and community leaders and many other sympathisers and well-wishers that gathered to offer prayers for the repose of his soul.
Just as the accounts of his good deeds were endless, his lordship, Hon. Justice Josiah Majebi, the Chief Judge of Kogi State, joined to declare that goodness is “practical religion” no matter what faith practiced. Others, including clerics and virtually all in attendance, acknowledged the virtues of being good and doing good to others.
Tears rolled again when memories were relieved as there was no contradiction to Justice Adamu’s life of giving and selflessness even as the CJ himself confessed that he thought he knew him well but only to discover he knew little about the late jurist’s demeanor until after his passing.
The Hon. CJ’s passion for humanity was replated in his deductions that he never knew how much Justice Adamu was benevolent. He recalled several accounts, including that of how he was sponsoring unknown students who were not in any way related to him.
The CJ went further to stress the fact that the fate that befalls the dead in the hereafter is deduced from the records relayed by the living and there’s every sign that Justice Adamu has started resting peacefully with the Almighty given the several reports of his good deeds.
He extolled the deceased for his exceptional display of love to his neighbors in accordance with the prescriptions of the holy Quran which stipulates that those living within the radius of 40 houses around the one’s environment should be taken as one’s brothers and shown love.
His words: “Wherever you are, whether by position, fame or whatever is it that places you above others, one thing it also places upon you is to always think about life and death. However, the power of life and death is not in the hands of anyone of us but in the hands of the God Almighty.
“This is not being religious because there are two aspects to religion. The first aspect is that which is between you and your God. This does not mean much to God than the second.
“The second aspect is the one that is related to you and your neighbors. By my understanding, Islam is a religion of peace and care for neighbours which says you should take those within 40 houses around you as your neighbours. It means you should be caring and loving your neighbor and it is the same with Christianity because Christ is the King of peace and love. So, the one that God cherishes most is the love of your neighbor and it’s he who loves his neighbor that can easily have the mercy of God. That’s the practical religion. We must therefore respect the power of love which lies in the hands of everybody. We ask the Lord to give us the right spirit to do the right thing always because what we’re doing now is not for Justice Adamu but for ourselves.
“Justice Yahaya Adamu was a good man. We had worked together at Idah when he was a Magistrate and I was a resident Judge then. He later became the Chief Registrar and we still had some good relations up to and after he became a Judge. I thought I knew so much about him but it turned out to be very little compared to what I have been hearing about him after his death. One of my security aides even spoke about his generosity to the extent that he foots the bill of indigent school children whom he never knew from anywhere. This is aside the several accounts by our staff stating how he’ll draw a list of recipients, unsolicited, each time he received his salary regardless of their cadres. That is what I call practical religion.
“So, the first aspect of religion is that which is between you and your God and the second aspect is that which deals with how you love your neighbor.
“When I heard what Justice Yahaya Adamu has done in life, and what I have read from different scriptures, I am convinced that the Lord will have mercy on him. In fact, I am sure that if he’s given the opportunity by God to return, with what he is already enjoying now where he is, he’ll definitely not want to return to this cruel world again. So, don’t weep for him but weep for yourself because you must be asking yourself if all the good things that are being said about him now would be said about you.
“The judiciary as a family will continue to recognize his good work. He was so nice and appreciative of whatever little is done for him. The last time he came to me, he said he came to thank me. I said for what? He said for the privilege I gave him to preside over an Appeal panel. He said he was thankful to have that in his record and he truly had it in his record. This also means that you must always appreciate whatever little that anyone has done for you. No matter how small it is, take it as an addition because after all, you’re already honored and you have not done same thing to anyone.
“The testimonies we are sharing today after his death is what we have used to know who he was. So, if you love him, don’t do anything that will hurt him or touch his image even in death. Let us all be careful in handling anything that relates to him, more particularly, property. Let us allow whatever belongs to that person to belong to him because we know what belongs to who. And by so doing, he will forever be pleased with us” concluded the CJ as he admonished.
Earlier, clerics offered prayers separately for the repose of his soul. They included the lineage of the imam who was notable to have translated the holy Quran into Igala language that represent by Sheikh Muhammad, who also recalled that Justice Adamu helped in completing a community mosque,
Hon. Kadi Muhammad Bala offered prayers too on behalf of the Judiciary. He said as exemplified by the late jurist, the goodness begetts goodness and that was obvious in the turnout in the day and the stories relayed by people. He posited that whoever does good will definitely see good and vice versa, regardless of whatever religion he or she practices. He went further to pray for the deceased, his family, the CJ and the judiciary family asking that God touches the heart of the authority to provide the CJ the wherewithal to take the judiciary to his desired position in the state.
Imam Mahmoud Adamu idenyi, Chief imam of 500 Units in Lokoja, while advising goodness amongst humanity in similar tone and eulogizing Justice Adamu for his good deeds, prayed for him and all those he had left behind. He backed his prayers and sermon with verses of the holy Quran saying that there’s no any human being who does not have any sickness in him. He said mocking people who are ill by those who presumed they are healthy was therefore ungodly.
He noted that God bless those whom He has placed in positions only by His holiness. While likening Justice Adamu to such people, he said the categories of people so divinely blessed “don’t cheat, they don’t oppress, they don’t kill, they don’t destroy and they like their brothers like themselves and they do justice at all times.
“When it is time for such people to leave this world, they are beckoned upon by eight Angels of good tidings and you will see them happy and dying with contentment and laughter.
On the contrary according to him, “the cheaters who do whatever they like to make this world, you kill to make this world, if you’re going to die, the Angel will command you to surrender your life by yourself. They’ll say you’re going to taste a humiliating punishment today because you’re amongst those who made life difficult for your fellow beings. They will be urinating, defecating, stooling and fighting themselves because of what they have done in life. So let us endeavour to always do good in all circumstances” he urged.
To Sheikh Imam Junaid, former Imam of the Government House, Lokoja, it is always important to say the truth in any matter, no matter who is involved, so as to gain God’s blessings. He frowned at hastiness at such prayers organized for the dead and advocated that ample time should always be devoted to pray for lost ones because that’s the only gift that could be offered to them. He thereafter conducted the recitation of the praise of Allah’s name one thousand times each by those who were present so as to make up or more than the 70,000 times of the same praises prescribed by the holy prophet Muhammad (PBOH) to seek Allah’s Mercy upon the deceased.
He stressed that when you use any position that you’re endowed with positively or negatively, Allah says you will reap the reward quoting that God says in the holy Quran, that “The faith of any of you will never be completed in the face of Allah untill you love your brother like yourself.”
Following the CJ’s speech, a few other prayers were offered by other clerics, including the Chief Imam of Zone 8, Lokoja, before Justice Adamu’s son, Mallam Abbas Adamu, rendered a heartwarming vote of thanks, on behalf of the family. He used it to again reaffirm his strength of character and faith in God Almighty for everything He has done for the family.as he appreciated the Hon. CJ, the judiciary family, the clerics, sympathisers and all well-wishers for identifying with the family just as he also prayed that everyone be abundantly reciprocated by God and safely returned to their respective destinations.
