JUST IN: Shettima, Gbajabiamila in London to receive Buhari’s body [VIDEO]

Vice President Kashim Shettima and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, have arrived in London to receive the body of Nigeria’s former president, Muhammadu Buhari, who died on Sunday afternoon at the age of 82.

The duo are leading the official Nigerian delegation, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive to oversee the return of Buhari’s remains for burial in Nigeria.

Also present in the United Kingdom to receive the delegation were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, among other dignitaries.

Buhari died in London around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday after a prolonged illness.

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Though the nature of the illness remains undisclosed, his spokesman, Garba Shehu, had recently told Channels Television that the former president was “in recovery mode,” noting, “Each day, he gets better... He is 82, eats healthy, and exercises regularly.”

Following the announcement of Buhari’s death, President Tinubu ordered all national flags to be flown at half-staff as a sign of respect and mourning, while extending his “deep condolences to the family” of the late statesman.

A former military head of state between 1984 and 1985, Buhari became a democratic symbol after returning to politics in 1999.

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Though unsuccessful in his presidential bids in 2003, 2007, and 2011, his fortunes changed in 2015 after the merger of his CPC with Tinubu’s ACN and other parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Riding on the ‘Change’ campaign, Buhari, with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, a historic first in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

They were re-elected in 2019 and handed over to Tinubu and Shettima in 2023.

Buhari’s final journey home begins this week, with national prayers and funeral arrangements expected upon arrival in Nigeria.