Hassan Danbaba, the only grandson of the late Premier of the defunct Northern Region and Sardauna Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, is dead.
Our correspondent gathered that Danbaba slumped and died in Kaduna on Saturday.
“He just fell down and when he was rushed to hospital, he was pronounced dead,” a family source said.
The deceased, who held the title of Magaji Garin Sokoto, was the son of the second daughter of the late Premier, A’ishatu, who died in April 2021 at the age of 76 as a result of a protracted illness.
As of the time of filing this report, details of burial arrangement were still sketchy.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government has arranged for Danbaba’s remains to be flown to Sokoto, where he will be buried in Hubbare, a royal compound that has a cemetery specially preserved for the legendary Sheikh Othman Danfodio and his progeny.
This was according to a family member, who added that Danbaba “was one of the kingmakers in the Sokoto Caliphate. He was not only one of the most influential northerners; he was the Head of the Sokoto kingmakers.”
The source added, “He (Danbaba) was in Kaduna to condole with another influential northerner, Lt Gen Aliyu Gusau (retd), a former National Security Adviser and Minister for Defence, who recently lost his elder brother.
“Danbaba checked into his hotel, Stonehedge, in Kaduna. He dressed up preparatory to meeting General Gusau in his house and for two of them to head back to Abuja before he slumped and died in the hotel room around 11.30am.
“His panicky aides rushed him to the 44 Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna. He was declared dead on arrival.
“A devastated governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, ordered that his body be evacuated to the Government House for airlift to Sokoto for the funeral. He will be buried at a cemetery reserved for royal leaders, Hubbaren Shehu.”
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