The body of Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Katsina State, marking the beginning of his final journey home to Daura, where he will be laid to rest.

The presidential aircraft bearing his remains touched down at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport by 1:53 pm on Tuesday. Vice-President Kashim Shettima accompanied the late president’s body from London, where Buhari died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at the age of 82.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was present at the airport to receive the former president’s body, alongside several state governors, cabinet members, and top government officials.

The casket, draped in the national colours, was solemnly received by the guard of honour before being moved to a waiting convoy. From the airport, the late president’s body will be transported to his hometown, Daura, in Katsina State, where Islamic funeral prayers and burial will take place in accordance with Islamic rites.

Tuesday’s events have brought Nigeria to a pause, as the federal government declared a public holiday in honour of the late statesman. The declaration follows an earlier proclamation by President Tinubu, who ordered a seven-day period of national mourning, with flags flying at half-mast across the country.

A special Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday was also postponed to allow top officials and members of the cabinet to attend the burial.

Buhari, who was born on 17 December 1942, first served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he returned to power through the ballot in 2015, becoming the first opposition candidate in Nigerian history to defeat a sitting president. He was re-elected in 2019 and served until May 2023.

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