By Chibuike Nwabuko
KATSINA (PRECISE POST) – President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday received the remains of former President Muhammadu Buhari at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina, as Nigeria began final rites for the late leader.
The ceremony was formally announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Precise Post recalls that Buhari passed away on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in a London hospital.
President Tinubu arrived from Abuja at 1:42 p.m. and inspected a guard of honour before the Nigerian Air Force aircraft carrying Buhari’s casket landed at 1:51 p.m.
The late president’s body was accompanied to Nigeria by his wife, Aisha Buhari; Vice President Kashim Shettima; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and other family members.
Also present to receive the casket were President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, former Nigerien President Issoufou Mahamadou, and former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
A joint team of nine senior military officers served as pallbearers, solemnly wheeling the flag-draped casket through a military guard of honour. The procession moved in step with the hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again,” underscoring the solemnity of the moment.
President Tinubu, along with other dignitaries, walked behind the casket in a silent procession before it was placed into a military hearse bound for Daura, Buhari’s hometown, where funeral prayers and burial ceremonies were held.
The state funeral was marked by full military honours, including a 21-gun salute, befitting Buhari’s status as a former military ruler and two-term civilian president.
