Dantata laid to rest in Madinah
Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Nigeria’s foremost business mogul, who passed away on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), was laid to rest on Tuesday at the Al-Baqi Cemetery in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. His burial followed Jana’iza prayers held after Maghrib at the Prophet’s Mosque.
A statement from the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, signed by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, says the late patriarch’s body arrived in Madinah on Tuesday morning, accompanied by his son, Alhaji Tajudeen Dantata; his nephew, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; and other family members.
A high-level delegation from the federal government of Nigeria attended the funeral rites in the Islamic holy city. The delegation had departed Nigeria late Sunday, arriving in Madinah in the early hours of Monday.
Led by the Minister of Defence and former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, the delegation included the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata; and the Director of Internal Security at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Hassan Abdullahi, who represented the NSA.
Prominent Islamic clerics also accompanied the delegation, including Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, and Khalifa Abdullahi Muhammad, Imam of the Dantata Mosque in Abuja.
Officials from the Nigerian Consulate General in Jeddah, led by Ambassador Ibrahim Moddibbo, were present, alongside Ambassador Muazzam Ibrahim Nayaya and Defence Attaché, Major General Adamu Hassan, who coordinated the funeral arrangements.
Also in attendance were Senator Barau Jibrin, Deputy Senate President; Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, immediate past APC National Chairman and former Kano State governor; and Governors Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote led other family members and close associates in paying their final respects to the late patriarch. The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, and Emir Aminu Ado Bayero were also present at the burial.
