Abba Kyari, the deceased chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, will be buried in Abuja today, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
Mr Kyari, from Borno State, was pronounced dead on Friday from coronavirus complications. He was first tested positive for the virus on March 23 and subsequently moved to a private medical facility in Lagos for treatment.
Following his demise Friday night, the presidency has commenced burial plans in earnest in line with Islamic provisions.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt from presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu that Mr Kyari’s remains will arrive in Abuja from Lagos Saturday morning.
He will be received by friends and cabinet colleagues at the airport in Abuja from where he will later be taken to a cemetery in the nation’s capital for burial, Mr Shehu said.
The burial will not be made open in compliance with the existing social distancing directive aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly virus.
Mr Kyari has been in the public consciousness since he was announced to have fallen victim of the virus on March 23.
He was initially receiving treatment in Abuja before he was transferred to a private hospital in Lagos on March 29.
In a March 29 statement, Mr Kyari said his health was improving and urged Nigerians to remain calm about his situation and keep a hygienic lifestyle to avoid contracting the virus.
But on Friday night, the presidency confirmed he had departed from complications inflicted by the virus. Mr Kyari consequently became the most senior Nigerian government official and politician to die from the virus, which was first reported in the country on February 27.
Nearly 500 Nigerians have now contracted the virus as of Friday night, out of which 17 casualties have been confirmed.
We thought we had the NCDC told the public that dead bodies of Covid-19 victims are not usually handed to families for burial, except a cremated remains.
Why is this burial story?
And why a burial arrangement when Covid-19 is still keeping Nigerians at home?
Just asking…