President Mohammadu Buhari has lost two extended family members in less than 24 hours, the presidency said on Saturday.

A statement released on Saturday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the president’s extended family had been struck by the loss of two senior members who died within a few hours of one another, while naming one of the deceased as Hajiya Halima Dauda, the younger sister of Mamman Daura.

“She died at about the age of 56, leaving behind 10 children, four of them male and six female including one of President Buhari’s Personal Assistants, Mohammed Sabi’u Tunde,” he said.

Shehu said the burial was attended by a Federal Government delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

Others on the team were the Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika; two businessmen- Alhaji Isma’ila Isa and Sayyu Dantata; three Senior Special Assistants to the President -Sarki Abba, Ya’u Darazo and Shehu; the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar, the Permanent Secretary, State House Jalal Arabi and the State Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Lawal Kazaure.

Shehu said the Buhari family had earlier on Friday buried Hajiya Ai’sha Alhaji Mamman. He identified the second deceased as the wife of the President’s older brother, Alhaji Mamman.

Receiving condolences, Malam Mamman on behalf of the family and the Emir, Alhaji Umar Faruk for the people of Daura Emirate thanked God for the lives of the deceased and all the visitors for sharing the moment of grief with them.

According to Punch, among those received by the family in Daura were the Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu; and a former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Brig.-Gen. Jafaru Isa (retd.).