PANDEF directs 7-day mourning for Horsfall

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has announced seven day mourning in the wake of the death of Chief Albert Horsfall, a founding member of the organisation, who passed on at the age of 84.

It directed all Its chapters in Nigeria and the Diaspora to suspend official social programmes and use the profile image of the late Chief Horsfall across their platforms for seven days, beginning Friday, September 11, 2026.

The directive, according to the group, is in honour of a man whose public service career spanned national security, intelligence, Niger Delta development and traditional leadership.

Pandef National Chairman, Dr. Godknows Boladei Igali, announced the death in a statement on Friday, describing it as a deeply painful loss to the group, the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large.

Horsfall was widely recognised as a distinguished security and intelligence expert who rose to the highest levels of Nigeria’s national security establishment.

He served at different times as Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), becoming one of the notable figures in the evolution of Nigeria’s security and intelligence architecture.

Horsfall was the founding Chairman of the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), the agency established to address developmental challenges in oil-producing communities and which later gave way to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

He also served as a pioneer Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, placing him among the early senior public officials directly involved in shaping government policy towards the oil-producing region.

Beyond his public service career, Chief Horsfall participated actively in national politics and at one point sought the presidency of Nigeria under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He was also deeply committed to the Niger Delta’s quest for development, equity and justice.

In 2016, he became one of the prominent founding members of the PANDEF Board of Trustees, contributing his experience, stature and institutional knowledge to the group’s efforts to articulate the interests of the Niger Delta at the national level.

He subsequently played several leadership roles within PANDEF and remained an influential figure in the organisation.

“PANDEF greatly mourns this titan of national and regional service,” Igali stated, even as he acknowledged the breadth of Chief Horsfall’s contributions to Nigeria and the Niger Delta. (The Nation)