Former Nigerian president, Shehu Shagari, has died at the National Hospital, Abuja, after a brief illness, his grandson and the president of The National Youth Council of Nigeria, Bello Shagari said on Friday evening.

He was 93. His death was also confirmed by the governor of his home state of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal.

“I regret to announce the death of former President Shehu Shagari who just passed away at National Hospital Abuja,” Tambuwal tweeted.

He was Nigerian president between 1979 and 1983. He contested and won re-election in 1983, but a military coup staged on December 31, 1983, terminated his second term. The coup brought in the then Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as the head of state.

After the coup, he was arrested by the military government on allegations of corruption. He was, however, cleared of the allegations, but that did not stop the military junta from banning him from active politics for life.

Before joining politics in 1951, Shagari was a schoolteacher. Four years after his entry into politics, he was elected a member of the Federal House of Representatives.

Source: The Guardian