PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is set to receive the body of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina.
Tinubu will receive the body when it arrives from London before proceeding to Daura for funeral prayers at the Emir’s Palace by 2 p.m. today, Tuesday, July 15.
Earlier on Monday, Vice President Kashim Shettima and Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to Tinubu, arrived in London to receive the body of the late leader.
The ICIR reported that Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, on Monday announced that the late president’s body would arrive in Nigeria the following day.
Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from December 1983 to August 1985, and as a two-term civilian president from May 2015 to May 2023, passed away on Sunday, July 13, in London, where he had been since April for what was described as a routine medical check-up.
Meanwhile, serving and former political office holders, top traditional rulers and other dignitaries have continued to throng Buhari’s residence in Daura to pay their last respect.
This dignitaries include, former Katsina State governor, Aminu Masari; former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun; former communication minister, Isa Pantami; Sultan of Sokoto Sa’adu Abubakar, and the Emir of Kazaure, Ahmad Dangiwa.
The ICIR reported that both the federal and Katsina state governments had declared Tuesday a public holiday to allow Nigerians to mourn the former president, who died at 82 after a prolonged illness.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.