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President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday received the remains of former President Muhammadu Buhari at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina, ahead of final funeral rites in Daura, the late leader’s hometown.
Tinubu arrived from Abuja at 1:42 p.m., inspecting a guard of honour shortly before a Nigerian Air Force plane carrying Buhari’s remains touched down at 1:51 p.m.
Buhari, who died on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in a London hospital after a prolonged illness, is being accorded full state honours.
Accompanying the late president’s remains were Vice President Kashim Shettima, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, his widow Aisha Buhari, and other family members.
At the airport to receive the casket were Tinubu, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau, Niger Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, former President of Niger Issoufou Mahamadou, and former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
A joint military pallbearer team, comprising nine senior officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, carried the flag-draped casket in a solemn march. The team was led by Major General Mike Alechenu, with members including Major-General Mohammed Usman, Rear Admiral Suleiman Dahun, Air Vice Marshal Adeniyi Herbert Amesinlola, among others.
As the casket passed through a full military guard of honour, comprising six officers and 96 soldiers, the hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” played, adding to the solemnity of the moment.
In a procession, Tinubu and other dignitaries walked behind the trolley bearing the casket. The body was later placed into a waiting military hearse for the one-hour journey to Daura, where the funeral prayer and burial are scheduled to take place.
The state funeral included full military honours, with a 21-gun salute marking the former leader’s final return home.
Buhari, who ruled Nigeria as both a military head of state (1983–1985) and a democratically elected president (2015–2023), was 82.
