Solomon Dalung is a lawyer, former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, academic, activist, and advocate for social justice whose life has been defined by resilience and an unwavering commitment to confronting injustice.
Born on 26 September 1964 in Sabon Gida, now in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Dalung grew up in a family of public servants. His father rose to become a Director of Health, while his mother was a respected community leader, trader, and farmer.
After completing secondary school at Government College, Kanke, he joined the Nigerian Prisons Service, where he served for about 15 years before pursuing a law degree at the University of Jos. Prolonged university strikes delayed his graduation, and similar disruptions extended his stay at the Nigerian Law School before he was called to the Bar in 2001.
Dalung later served as Personal Assistant to the late Chief Solomon Lar, briefly returned to the Prisons Service as a Legal Officer, and subsequently became a lecturer at the University of Jos, earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 2007. He also served as Chairman of Langtang South Local Government before resigning from academia to pursue politics and activism full-time.
A founding member of the APC in Plateau State, Dalung contested the party’s governorship primaries in 2014 and later served on the Presidential Transition Committee following Muhammadu Buhari’s election. He was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports Development, serving from 2015 to 2019.
Dalung says his lifelong opposition to injustice stems from a childhood incident in which he was abandoned as an infant and nearly died. According to family accounts, a relative dismissed his future because of his parents’ poverty, prompting his grandmother to vow that she would educate him regardless of the sacrifices required. That experience, he says, inspired his lifelong commitment to justice, equality, and defending the vulnerable.
Today, Dalung describes himself as a revolutionary democrat, lawyer, peace advocate, social justice campaigner, and anti-corruption crusader. He says he remains outspoken because he believes silence in the face of injustice is never an option.
As he puts it: “If speaking against injustice is what makes my mouth toxic, then I can live with that.”