The body of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, has been flown from London to his hometown of Daura, Katsina State, ahead of a state burial scheduled for Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Hikaya Newspaper reports that his remains arrived aboard a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft before 8 am. on Tuesday. Vice President Kashim Shettima, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, and other top government officials accompanied the late leader’s body.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received the body in Katsina by noon, as preparations intensify for the burial ceremony. The Federal Government has declared Tuesday a public holiday in honour of the late statesman. Buhari passed away on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in a London hospital following a prolonged illness. He was 82 years old.
Buhari, a native of Daura in Katsina State, was widely admired for his firm leadership style. He first served as Nigeria’s military head of state from 1984 to 1985. Popularly known as ‘Baba Buhari’ in northern Nigeria, he later became a formidable political figure, contesting for president three times before winning the 2015 elections after the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari’s two-term civilian presidency from 2015 to 2023 was marked by his anti-corruption agenda, though controversies surrounded his oversight of public officials. His alliance with political heavyweights like Bola Tinubu helped defeat the incumbent administration in 2015 — a historic first in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. He handed over to Tinubu and Vice President Shettima on May 29, 2023.