Dantata to be buried in Madinah after embassy documentation delay
The body of Nigerian business icon and philanthropist, Aminu Dantata, has arrived in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, where he will be buried later on Tuesday following delays related to documentation.
Dantata, who died on Saturday in Abu Dhabi at the age of 94, had expressed a long-standing wish to be buried in Islam’s second-holiest city. His funeral was initially scheduled for Monday, but it was postponed due to processing delays involving the Nigerian embassy and his family.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, confirmed the new burial arrangement during an interview with the BBC, noting that final preparations were underway for the interment.
Sanusi Dantata, the son of the deceased, announced on social media that his father’s remains had arrived in Madinah early Tuesday.
He disclosed that billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote, who is Dantata’s great-nephew, accompanied the body from Abu Dhabi. A video shared alongside the post showed Dangote and fellow businessman Femi Otedola seated at the airport.
Sanusi said funeral prayers will take place at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah after the Asr prayer, at approximately 1:30 p.m. Nigerian time, followed by burial at the historic Baqiyya cemetery.
A federal government delegation led by Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru arrived in Madinah on Monday to represent Nigeria at the funeral. Other members of the delegation include Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, Minister of State for Housing Development; and notable Islamic clerics, including Bashir Aliyu Umar, Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, and Khalifa Abdullahi Muhammad, the imam of the Dantata Mosque in Abuja.
In Kano, where Dantata’s death was initially announced, a Salatul Ga’ib (funeral prayer in absentia) was held at the Umar Bin Khattab Mosque, led by Ibrahim Khalil, chairman of the Kano State Council of Ulamas.
Dantata is survived by three wives, 21 children, and 121 grandchildren.