Abuja — Mrs. Grace Adayilo, the pioneer Head of Civil Service of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has died. She passed away in the early hours of Monday, September 1, 2025.
Her Special Assistant on Media, Anthony Odey, confirmed the news in a terse response to inquiries but declined to give further details on the circumstances surrounding her death.
Appointed by President Bola Tinubu on October 6, 2024, Adayilo made history as the first substantive FCT Head of Service and the first woman to hold the position. Before then, she served as Permanent Secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat.
Neither her family nor the FCT Administration has issued an official statement on the cause of death.
Her passing comes just a day after the death of former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, who died on Sunday, August 31, 2025, at Cedarcrest Hospital, Abuja.
Arase, Nigeria’s 18th IGP, had a distinguished career in law enforcement, serving as head of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, and Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of intelligence. He also participated in UN peacekeeping in Namibia and was a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Born June 21, 1956, Arase retired from the Nigeria Police Force in 2016 after 35 years of service. He later chaired the Police Service Commission, appointed in January 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, until his removal by President Tinubu in June 2024.
The deaths of Adayilo and Arase, announced within 24 hours, have cast a shadow of grief over Nigeria’s public service and security institutions.
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