Aisha Buhari Clarifies Late President’s Death — Says Not Cancer

Former First Lady Aisha Buhari has revealed that her husband, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, passed away from pneumonia, dismissing widespread speculation that cancer was responsible for his death.

She shared this clarification while reflecting on the final moments of the former Nigerian leader, who died in mid-2025 at a London clinic. His remains were later returned to Nigeria for burial in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.

According to Aisha Buhari, the closing phase of her husband’s life was particularly challenging. She described his last days as physically taxing, marked by time spent in intensive care before his condition deteriorated further. She noted that the final three days were especially severe.

These details appear in a newly released biography titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, written by Charles Omole. In the book, Aisha Buhari linked her husband’s illness to years of harsh conditions endured during his military service.

She explained that Buhari spent long periods operating in difficult environments, often exposed to rain and cold while wearing uniforms that dried on his body. In her view, those experiences, combined with prolonged exposure to air-conditioned environments later in life, weakened his lungs over time.

The biography further states that medical tests conducted on Buhari did not show any signs of cancer. Instead, doctors confirmed pneumonia as the illness that ultimately claimed his life, noting that at an advanced age, the condition can be especially dangerous.