Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari has been buried at his home in northern Nigeria two days after his death at the age of 82 at a clinic in London.
His body was flown back to the country earlier on Tuesday and his successor, Bola Tinubu, was at the airport in Katsina state to receive the remains.
It was then taken to Buhari’s home town of Daura, where hundreds attended Islamic funeral prayers at the central mosque.
His body was finally interred in a grave dug in the grounds of his home with dignitaries including Tinubu, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Buhari’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo present.
Just before the burial, military gunshots were fired and the Nigerian flag used to cover the corpse was removed, folded and handed over to the former leader’s family.
The government had declared Tuesday a public holiday to honour Buhari – who was also a former army general, one of only two Nigerians to have led the country as both a military leader and a democratically elected president.
Officials say the funeral, initially expected on Monday, was delayed for logistical reasons.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who accompanied the late leader’s corpse back to Nigeria, stated that Buhari had died after a brief illness without revealing any further details.
Tributes poured in for the late leader who served for two four-year terms after initially being elected president in 2015, becoming the first opposition leader to defeat an incumbent.
The man he beat, President Goodluck Jonathan, described Buhari as someone who “was selfless in his commitment to his duty and served the country with character and a deep sense of patriotism”.
Former military ruler, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, who overthrew Buhari in a 1985 coup, also showered praise on the octogenarian.
“He is a man who, even in retirement, remained a moral compass to many, and an example of modesty in public life,” Babangida noted.
Tinubu, who will attend the funeral prayer in Daura, declared a seven-day national mourning period in honour of his predecessor.
In an official condolence statement released on Sunday evening, Tinubu said the nation would pay its final respects to the former leader with dignity and honour, starting with the lowering of all national flags to half-mast across the country from Sunday.
