The remains of former President Muhammadu Buhari were laid to rest in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State, on Tuesday, in a solemn ceremony marked by full national and military honours.
Buhari was interred at approximately 5:50 p.m. in accordance with Islamic tradition. He was buried in his family compound in Daura, following a prayer session led by the Chief Imam of Katsina State.
Earlier in the day, Buhari’s body arrived at Umaru Musa Yar’adua Airport in Katsina at around 2:07 p.m., shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plane touched down. The casket bearing the late president’s remains was conveyed from the United Kingdom aboard Nigerian Air Force flight 5N-FGT 001. Buhari had died in a London clinic on Sunday, July 13, at the age of 82 after a prolonged illness.
The remains were accompanied from the United Kingdom by Vice President Kashim Shettima; Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia; Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum; and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar.
Also onboard were Buhari’s nephew, Mallam Mamman Daura, family members, senior aides, and other high-ranking dignitaries.
President Tinubu, alongside Katsina State Governor Dr. Dikko Radda, his deputy Faruk Lawal, and other prominent personalities, received the body at the airport.
A joint team of military pallbearers, comprising nine senior officers, laid the casket—draped in the Nigerian flag—on a trolley. The team included Major-General Mohammed Usman, Major-General Oluwafemi Williams, Major-General Shuaibu Nuhu, Rear Admiral Suleiman Dahun, Rear Admiral Jonathan Ajodo, Rear Admiral Samuel Ngatuwa, Air Vice Marshal Adeniyi Herbert Amesinlola, Air Vice Marshal Idi Sanni, and Air Vice Marshal Obinna Obiabaka. The group was coordinated by Major General Mike Alechenu.
The pallbearers wheeled the former leader’s casket in a slow march, in sync with the hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again,” passing through a full military guard of honour comprising six officers and 96 soldiers. President Tinubu and other dignitaries followed the casket in a solemn procession. The casket was then escorted into a waiting military hearse for the one-hour journey to Daura, where funeral prayers and the final burial ceremony would take place.
The interment was preceded by a 21-gun salute and full military rites.
The state burial drew a host of dignitaries from Nigeria and abroad. In attendance were President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau; Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Lamine Zeine; former President of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou; and former Nigerian Vice Presidents Yemi Osinbajo and Atiku Abubakar.
Also present were former governors including Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Aminu Tambuwal and Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Aminu Masari (Katsina), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), and Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno). Former ministers Rotimi Amaechi, Ali Pantami, and Pauline Tallen were also in attendance, along with Senate Deputy President Barau Jibrin and former Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
