FG Postpones Aminu Dantata’s Burial Over Delay In Body’s Arrival To Madinah

The Federal Government has announced the postponement of the funeral of Nigerian business icon, Aminu Dantata, who died on Saturday, June 28, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at the age of 94.

Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, told the BBC on Monday that the delay was due to the late arrival of Dantata’s remains in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

“There are regulations set by the Saudi government on how to bring a body for burial in the country, so now the paperwork is being filled out between the Saudi government and the family of the deceased,” Idris explained.

He added that once all required documentation is completed, the body will be transported from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, where the Nigerian embassy and the family have already finalized burial arrangements.

A federal government delegation, led by Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru, arrived in Madinah early Monday. Other members of the delegation include Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of Information Mohammed Idris; Minister of State for Housing Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata; as well as Islamic clerics Bashir Aliyu Umar, Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, and Khalifa Abdullahi Muhammad, the imam of Dantata Mosque in Abuja.

The Nigerian Consulate General in Jeddah, led by Ambassador Muazzam Ibrahim Nayaya, is also actively involved in the burial preparations.