Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has died at the age of 82, President Bola Tinubu confirmed in a statement released by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The former leader passed away in London at approximately 4:30 pm on Sunday after battling a prolonged illness.
President Tinubu expressed his condolences in a phone call with Buhari’s widow, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, and directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to travel to the United Kingdom to accompany the late president’s remains back to Nigeria. As a mark of national mourning, Tinubu also ordered flags to be flown at half-mast across the country.
Buhari’s former Special Adviser, Garba Shehu, also confirmed the news, stating that the former president died in a London clinic. “May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus,” Shehu wrote, invoking a traditional Muslim prayer for the deceased.
Buhari served as Nigeria’s democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, following an earlier tenure as military head of state between January 1984 and August 1985. His passing marks the end of an era for Nigerian politics, with tributes expected from across the nation and beyond in the coming days.
Funeral arrangements and further official statements are anticipated as preparations begin to lay the former leader to rest.
