The Katsina State Government has announced that the body of former President Muhammadu Buhari will arrive in the state by 12 noon on Tuesday, July 15, ahead of his burial in Daura the same day.
Governor Dikko Radda disclosed the burial arrangement on Monday following confirmation of Buhari’s death in London on Sunday. According to the governor, funeral rites will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the former president’s hometown in Daura, Katsina State.
Buhari died at the age of 82 while undergoing treatment at a private medical facility in London. The nature of the illness was not disclosed. His death was announced by his former spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a brief statement on Sunday evening.
“The family of the former president has announced the passing on of Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London,” Shehu wrote.
In the days leading up to his death, Buhari had been visited by several dignitaries in the London clinic, including former military ruler Abdulsalami Abubakar, former SGF Boss Mustapha, and former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha.
President Bola Tinubu, who succeeded Buhari in 2023, has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to accompany the late president’s body back to Nigeria. Tinubu also ordered flags to fly at half-mast nationwide in honour of the deceased.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga confirmed that President Tinubu had spoken with Aisha Buhari, the widow of the late president, and extended his condolences.
Buhari served as Nigeria’s democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023. Prior to that, he ruled as military Head of State from January 1984 to August 1985 following a coup that removed the Shehu Shagari administration. His military tenure was marked by strict enforcement campaigns, notably the “War Against Indiscipline.”
Born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, Buhari began his military career in 1961. He held several significant positions, including Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). In 1994, he was appointed Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) by General Sani Abacha.
Buhari entered party politics in 2003 and contested unsuccessfully for president three times before winning the 2015 election under the All Progressives Congress (APC). That victory marked the first peaceful transfer of power from one civilian administration to another through the ballot box in Nigeria’s history.
In retirement, Buhari largely withdrew from public life. His post-presidency years were spent in Daura and later Kaduna. During a visit by APC governors in 2024, Buhari stated that he lived modestly, owning just three homes and relying on rental income from one of them.
Public figures, including African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and several governors, paid visits to Buhari in the months before his death, some describing their encounters as gestures of respect and gratitude for past support.
