The body of former President Muhammadu Buhari has departed London, United Kingdom, for Katsina state ahead of his burial.
He served as Nigeria’s military head of state from 1983 to 1985 and as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023.
He died on Sunday in a clinic in London, United Kingdom (UK), after a prolonged illness.
The former president will be buried today at his hometown in Daura, Katsina.
According to the footage aired by Channels TV, Buhari’s body was airlifted by the Nigerian presidential aircraft in London on Tuesday morning.
The body of the former president was initially scheduled to arrive in Nigeria on Monday but it was postponed to Tuesday.
Subsequently, the federal government declared Tuesday as a public holiday to honour Buhari.
The public holiday is in addition to the seven days of national mourning earlier declared by President Bola Tinubu.
The federal government also postponed the special federal executive council (FEC) meeting in honour of Buhari because it clashed with the burial.
Speaking with journalists on Monday, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, said Tinubu will personally receive Buhari’s body when it arrives in Katsina.
Idris said the body would be transported from Katsina to Daura for the funeral prayer and interment at the late president’s residence.
