Former President Muhammadu Buhari will be laid to rest on Tuesday, July 15, not Monday as initially reported, officials have confirmed.
Buhari, who died on Sunday afternoon at a clinic in London, is expected to be buried in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State, according to Islamic rites.
Lawal Jobe, deputy governor of Katsina State, announced the revised burial schedule during a media interaction on Monday.
The delay, according to officials, was due to the logistics involved in transporting the late president’s remains from the United Kingdom.
Isa Ali Pantami, former minister of communications, also confirmed the update via a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday.
“For those inquiring about the funeral prayer for the former President, Baba Buhari, I have received confirmation that the President’s remains will depart London at 6 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, and arrive at Katsina airport around 12 noon,” Pantami wrote.
“Therefore, the funeral will likely take place from 2 p.m. tomorrow. May Allah grant him a place in Jannatul Firdaus alongside our departed parents, family members, and loved ones.”
A Nigerian presidential delegation, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima and Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, arrived in London on Monday morning to coordinate the repatriation of the late president’s body.
Buhari, who ruled Nigeria from 1983 to 1985 as a military leader and again from 2015 to 2023 as a democratically elected president, died after a prolonged illness. He was 82.
