Daura, Katsina State—In a solemn ceremony that drew leaders from across Nigeria and beyond, former President Muhammadu Buhari was laid to rest at his private residence in Daura on Tuesday, concluding a poignant day of mourning and remembrance.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the delegation of dignitaries who gathered to pay their final respects to the former leader, whose remains arrived earlier in the afternoon from London at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina. An honor guard received the body, and a somber convoy made its way through the streets of Daura, where crowds of mourners had lined the roads in a powerful display of admiration and farewell.
Among the notable figures present were Vice President Kashim Shettima, Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaru Sissoco Embaló, Niger Republic’s Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, former Nigerien President Issoufou Mahamadou, former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as well as several governors, ministers, and prominent business figures.
Upon arrival in Daura, a brief lying-in-state ceremony was held, followed by the Islamic funeral prayer—Salatul Janazah—led by Sheikh Salisu Rabiu, the Chief Imam of the Central Mosque in Daura. At precisely 5:50 p.m., the former President was interred in accordance with Islamic rites, surrounded by close family members and watched over by the nation he once led.
The military paid its final tribute with full honors, including a 21-gun salute and a reverent reveille. A weeklong schedule of memorial events will continue, beginning with an official condolence visit to the Buhari family by the Presidential Committee later on Tuesday.
Muhammadu Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s head of state both as a military ruler and a democratically elected president, leaves behind a legacy that will be debated, remembered, and studied for years to come.
