DAURA, NIGERIA — Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been buried in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State, two days after his death at a private clinic in London at the age of 82.
His body was flown back to Nigeria on Tuesday morning, where it was received at the airport by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accompanied by senior officials and military officers. From there, the late leader’s remains were transported to Daura, where Islamic funeral prayers were held at the central mosque before burial in the grounds of his family residence.
Dignitaries in attendance included President Tinubu, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, and other prominent figures. Military honours were rendered, including a ceremonial gun salute. The Nigerian flag draping his coffin was respectfully removed, folded, and handed to his family as a final tribute.
The federal government declared Tuesday a national public holiday in Buhari’s honour. President Tinubu also announced a seven-day period of national mourning, directing all flags to fly at half-mast from Sunday through the end of the week.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who accompanied Buhari’s remains from London, revealed that the former leader had succumbed to a brief illness, though further details remain undisclosed.
Buhari, a former army general, is remembered as one of Nigeria’s most consequential statesmen — one of only two Nigerians in history to lead the nation both as a military head of state and a democratically elected president. First elected in 2015 after defeating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, he served two terms before handing over power to President Tinubu in 2023.
Tributes have poured in from across the political spectrum. Goodluck Jonathan praised Buhari as “selfless in his commitment to duty” and “deeply patriotic.” Former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida, who famously ousted Buhari in a 1985 coup, lauded him posthumously as “a moral compass to many, and an example of modesty in public life.”
The late president’s burial marks the end of an era for a leader who left a complex but indelible mark on Nigeria’s modern political history.
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