Youth Groups Demand Review Of Victor Solomon’s Death Sentence

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Placards raised, chance ringing out, and a message carried through the streets of Kafanchan.

[00:00:07]Youth groups, representing the Middle Belt, Ohanaeze, Afenifere, and PANDEF converged for a press conference before embarking on a solidarity march in support of Victor Solomon, popularly known as the Dane.

[00:00:21]To supporters, Solomon is more than a convict on death row. They describe him as a symbol of unresolved questions surrounding justice in Southern Kaduna.

[00:00:32]A Kaduna State High Court sentenced Solomon, a member of the Adara community, to death by hanging in January 2026 over charges connected to communal violence in Kajuru Local Government Area.

[00:00:46]But the coalition insists the circumstances surrounding the case requires closer scrutiny.

[00:00:54]The groups points to years of killings, displacement, and unresolved attacks across Southern Kaduna, arguing that any death sentence arising from such a volatile conflict should undergo the highest level of judicial independent review.

[00:01:10]>> Let us be unequivocal. This is not a statement of politics, religion, or ethnic grievance. This is a statement of conscience. Master Victor Solomon is alive. His appeals are open. The governor's clemency power stands available. The hour for deliberation has not passed, but it will not wait forever. We call on every authority with the power to act to do so with urgency, with moral seriousness, and with full weight of their duty to justice and to human life.

[00:01:43]>> The coalition acknowledged the position of the Kaduna State government, which maintains that due process was followed, and that Solomon's prosecution was based on existing criminal charges.

[00:01:55]Even so, the groups are urging Governor Nasir el-Rufai to grant a stay of execution pending an independent review of the case.

[00:02:04]They are also appealing to the judiciary, federal authorities, the National Human Rights Commission, and international human rights organizations to intervene.

[00:02:13]>> I urge all relevant agency, international community, to rise up to give them the support for release of this innocent man who have having his own self-defense for the crisis and the attack of his community.

[00:02:30]And we are praying that innocent blood should not be taken after he defends his life and defends his people for the attack that took place some some sort of time in 2018.

[00:02:44]>> For many at the rally, the issue extends beyond legal arguments. It reflects lingering wounds from years of communal conflict and a continuing search for justice, reconciliation, and lasting peace in Southern Kaduna.

[00:03:00]Nissi Gabriel, Arise News, Kaduna.