Kefas: “He stayed true to the tenets of the profession”
Chief Ben Adaji, veteran journalist and long-serving Taraba State correspondent, has died at age 67.
Adaji passed away around 4pm on Saturday, May 31, 2026, at his country home in Abo-Ojikpadala, Imane District, Olamaboro LGA, Kogi State, his family confirmed.
Taraba Governor Agbu Kefas described the loss as “a great one for his immediate family and the entire media community of the state”.
In a tribute signed by his media aide Emmanuel Bello, Kefas called Adaji a “forthright journalist who stayed true to the tenets of the profession” and a “hero of democracy” for his courage confronting power during military eras.
Adaji made Taraba his reporting home for decades. He never left the state throughout his career, moving across newsrooms as their Taraba correspondent.
He worked with TheNEWS/TEMPO/PM NEWS, The Nation, National Trail, and was until his death correspondent for Aljazirah Nigeria Newspaper in Taraba. He once chaired the Taraba Correspondents’ Chapel of the NUJ.
Colleagues remember him as a field reporter who dug past press releases, an “iconoclast” with acerbic reports and aggressive interview style. “He never shied away from asking the questions many would not ask,” one sympathiser said. He was equally known for kindness — financially supporting colleagues and fighting others’ battles.
Beyond journalism, Adaji held the traditional title of Abujah of Oda Ojiji Imane in Kogi, recognized for promoting cultural heritage.
Tributes have poured in from NUJ, past colleagues, and Taraba politicians who recall his last days in high spirits, preparing to enter partisan politics.
Adaji leaves a legacy of ethical reporting, professional integrity, and generations of journalists he mentored.
