By Chibuike Nwabuko
KATSINA (PRECISE POST) – It was a funal farewell as former President Muhammadu Buhari was laid to rest on Tuesday at his residence in Daura, Katsina State, in a solemn ceremony attended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and an array of national and international dignitaries.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga released on his X handle on Tuesday night, Buhari’s final rites began with the arrival of his remains from London at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina, where President Tinubu led a state reception and military honours. The body was then transported in a military convoy to Daura for interment.
Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Daura to pay their last respects as the former president’s cortege made its way through the town. At his residence, a brief lying-in-state ceremony was held before the funeral prayer (Salatul Janazah), which was led by Sheikh Salisu Rabiu, Imam of the Central Mosque in Daura.
President Tinubu, alongside Buhari’s family members and other dignitaries, witnessed the final interment at approximately 5:50 p.m.
The state funeral featured full military honours, including a reveille and a 21-gun salute, reflecting Buhari’s stature as both a former military head of state and two-term civilian president.
Among those present were President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, former Nigerien President Issoufou Mahamadou, former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, several state governors, and prominent business figures.
A weeklong programme of memorial events is expected to continue, beginning with a condolence visit to the Buhari family by the Presidential Committee, the statement added.
