Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed London with the remains of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away on Sunday, July 13, in a London hospital after a prolonged illness. The former president will be laid to rest later today in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State, in accordance with Islamic rites.
The development was confirmed on Tuesday morning by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President).
“I can only confirm that the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, as directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has departed London for Nigeria in the company of some family members of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari,” Nkwocha said.
Nkwocha also noted that other members of the federal delegation dispatched to London by President Tinubu have likewise departed for Nigeria. The delegation includes Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar; and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia.
Vice President Shettima had arrived in London on Sunday, shortly after President Tinubu officially announced Buhari’s death and directed him to lead a high-level delegation to repatriate the former president’s remains.
In honour of the late leader, President Tinubu has ordered national flags to be flown at half-mast. Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s president from 2015 to 2023, is remembered as a key figure in the country’s democratic history, with tributes pouring in from across Nigeria and around the world.