In Pictures: Honours, tears and Tinubu’s last respect as Buhari is buried

As former President Muhammadu Buhari was laid to rest in his hometown of Daura in Katsina on Tuesday, dignitaries gathered to pay their last respects to a man whose tenure was a defining moment in Nigeria’s political history.

The former president, who had once ruled the country for a year and eight months as military head of state between 1983 and 1985, was laid to rest with military honours and Islamic burial rites.

As soldiers shot their rifles into the air 21 times in salute, family members and close allies, draped in black, wept silently, mourning the man whose death was a remembrance of the life he once lived and years of service to the country.

The former president gave up the ghost in a London hospital on Sunday after battling an illness. Tributes have been trooping in since his death. A public holiday was declared on Tuesday by the Federal Government in honour of his death.

The Katsina State Government had, declared Monday, 14 July 2025, a public holiday throughout the state to mourn and honor him prior to the Federal Government’s announcement.

Buhari’s remains brought out of the aircraft.

Buhari’s remains arrive Katsina from London.

President Tinubu bidding farewell to his predecessor.

The picture of Tinubu bidding farewell to Buhari symbolises Nigeria’s past and present, showing that not even death is strong enough to separate the duo who teamed up to unseat Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2015.

Nigeria’s First Lady consoles former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, at the Katsina Airport.

Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 Presidential Elections, Atiku Abubakar, and ormer Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, at Buhari’s burial in Daura.

Buhari and Atiku were political opponents before his death. Despite political differences, Atiku paid his final respect to Buhari at his burial.

A woman in tears as Buhari is laid to rest.

The news of Buhari’s death stirred a mix of emotions from different Nigerians. While some made memes on social media platforms following his death, others, like the woman in this picture, have been grieving.

A man attempts to conceal his expression as he fights back tears.

Buhari may not be the best president Nigeria has ever had to some, but he was loved by others. The image of this man who struggled to fight back tears at the burial of the president no doubt shows that he was a man after the heart of some Nigerians.

The Governor of Katsina State, where Buhari hailed from, was seen in tears at the former president’s burial. After his passing, Radda eulogised Buhari, describing him as “embodiment of the common man’s aspirations”. He also described him as a father figure whose footsteps he has endeavoured to follow.