The Federal Government yesterday announced the postponement of the funeral of prominent Nigerian businessman, Aminu Dantata, who died on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.

Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, told the BBC on Monday that the delay was due to the late arrival of the deceased’s body in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

“There are regulations set by the Saudi government on how to bring a body for burial in the country, so now the paperwork is being filled out between the Saudi government and the family of the deceased,” the minister said.

Idris explained that once the required documents are completed, the body will be transported from the UAE to Saudi Arabia.

He added that the Nigerian embassy in Saudi Arabia and the family have already concluded funeral arrangements, awaiting the arrival of the remains.

The federal government delegation, which departed Nigeria late Sunday, arrived in Madinah in the early hours of Monday.
Dantata died in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on June 28 at the age of 94.

Mohammed Badaru, minister of defence and former governor of Jigawa, is leading the delegation.

Other members of the delegation include Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice; Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation; and Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, minister of state for housing development.

Also in the delegation are Islamic clerics — Bashir Aliyu Umar, Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, and Khalifa Abdullahi Muhammad, imam of Dantata Mosque in Abuja.

Members of the Nigerian consulate general in Jeddah, led by Ambassador Muazzam Ibrahim Nayaya, are also part of the delegation.