Former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, has died at the age of 77, prompting Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to declare three days of mourning and order that the late former governor be accorded a state burial.
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Idris reportedly died on Sunday, September 20, 2026, in the United Kingdom. While some reports indicated that he had been battling a protracted illness, an official cause of death had not been publicly announced as of the time of filing this report.
Following confirmation of his death, Governor Ododo expressed grief over the passing of his predecessor, describing it as a profound loss to Kogi State and Nigeria.
The governor consequently declared a three-day mourning period in honour of Idris and directed that both the Nigerian national flag and the Kogi State flag be flown at half-mast at government offices and other designated public institutions throughout the mourning period.
Ododo also announced that the former governor would be accorded a state burial, with the Kogi State Government taking full responsibility for the burial expenses and arrangements necessary to give him what the government described as an honour befitting a former governor.
The governor had earlier visited Idris’s residence to commiserate with members of the bereaved family.
In a condolence letter to the family, Ododo said Idris’s death had deprived Kogi State of an eminent citizen who devoted a significant part of his life to public service.
He recalled the former governor’s years in office and said his administration recorded interventions in infrastructure, education, healthcare and other sectors of the state.
“His years in public office formed an important chapter in the political and developmental journey of Kogi State,” Ododo said.
The governor urged the Idris family to draw strength from memories of the former governor’s life and service, while extending condolences on behalf of the government and people of Kogi State to his family, friends and associates.
Ododo prayed that Almighty Allah would forgive Idris’s shortcomings, grant him Aljannatul Firdaus and give his family and the people of Kogi State the fortitude to bear the loss.
Following news of the death, Ododo, former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Abdullahi Bello and other senior government officials also visited the late governor’s Abuja residence to commiserate with his family.
Photographs of the condolence visit were subsequently made public.
Idris, a businessman before entering frontline politics, was elected governor of Kogi State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2003.
He won re-election in 2007, but the election was subsequently nullified, leading to a rerun in March 2008 which he won.
He eventually left office in January 2012 and was succeeded by Captain Idris Wada.
His death comes more than two years after the family suffered another loss following the death of his son, Mohammed Ibrahim Idris, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Ankpa/Olamaboro/Omala Federal Constituency from 2011 to 2015.
Mohammed died in Abuja on April 10, 2024, at the age of 55.
At the time, Governor Ododo had recalled that his last meeting with Mohammed was in March 2024 when the former lawmaker visited him alongside political stakeholders from Omala Local Government Area.
That March 2024 meeting referenced in earlier government statements was therefore with Mohammed Ibrahim Idris, the former governor’s son, and not with the late former governor himself.
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