Dantata's body arrives in Madinah for funeral after documentation delays

Aminu Dantata, business magnate and philanthropist, will be buried Tuesday afternoon in Madinah, one of Islam’s two holiest cities in Saudi Arabia.

It is a fulfilment of the business magnate’s long held wish before he died on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The funeral was set to take place on Monday but was delayed due to documentation issues from the Nigerian embassy and the deceased’s family.

Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, who is part of the federal government’s delegation to the burial, said Dantata would be laid to rest on Tuesday as both ends were working to complete the documentation.

Sanusi, Dantata’s son, announced on X that his father’s body arrived in Madinah this morning.

He noted that Aliko Dangote, Forbes wealthiest black man, escorted the remains from Abu Dhabi to Madinah.

Dantata was Dangote’s great-uncle.

Sanusi’s post was accompanied by a 19-second video which showed Femi Otedola, billionaire businessman, sitting with Dangote.

Sanusi said a prayer would be held for Dantata at the Holy Prophet’s mosque after the Asr prayer (around 1.30pm Nigerian time), after which he would be buried at the Baqiyya cemetery.

After announcing his father’s death on Saturday, Sanusi had noted that Dantata would be buried in Kano if the approval process stalled.