PHOTOS: Tinubu receives Buhari’s body at Katsina airport

The plane conveying the remains of former President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in Katsina state on Tuesday afternoon.

President Bola Tinubu led a solemn procession to receive the late leader’s body ahead of his final rites in his hometown, Daura.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft landed at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina at exactly 1:51 pm, bearing the casket of the late president, who passed away on Sunday, July 13, in a London hospital after a prolonged illness.

A statement by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said Tinubu had arrived at the airport from Abuja earlier at 1:42 pm, and was received with a guard of honour.

Shortly after, the presidential aircraft touched down with the remains of Buhari, accompanied by Kashim Shettima, the vice-president; Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president; and members of Buhari’s family, including his wife, Aisha Buhari.

Also on ground to receive the former president’s body were Umaro Sissoco Embaló, president of Guinea-Bissau; Ali Lamine Zeine, prime minister of Niger Republic; Issoufou Mahamadou, the former Nigerien president; and Yemi Osinbajo, the immediate past vice-president.

In line with military tradition, a joint team of senior officers from the Nigerian Army, navy, and NAF served as pallbearers. The nine-man team included Mohammed Usman, Oluwafemi Williams, Shuaibu Nuhu, Suleiman Dahun, Jonathan Ajodo, Samuel Ngatuwa, Adeniyi Herbert Amesinlola, Idi Sanni, and Obinna Obiabaka. The team was coordinated by Mike Alechenu, a major-general.

The pallbearers slowly wheeled the casket — draped in the Nigerian flag — through a full military guard of honour made up of six officers and 96 soldiers. As they marched, the solemn hymn “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” filled the air.

Tinubu, joined by the vice-president, foreign dignitaries, and top government officials, walked behind the casket in a quiet, dignified procession.

The body was eventually placed in a military hearse, which immediately departed for Daura, for the funeral prayers and interment.

The late president, who served first as Nigeria’s military head of state from 1983 to 1985 and later as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, will be laid to rest with full military honours — including a 21-gun salute.

Buhari’s body had initially been scheduled to arrive Nigeria on Monday, but the flight was rescheduled to Tuesday.

In his honour, the federal government declared Tuesday a public holiday in addition to the seven days of national mourning earlier announced by Tinubu. A special meeting of the federal executive council (FEC) was also postponed due to the burial.