JUST IN: Emir of Lere, Abubakar Mohammed, is dead

The Emir of Lere in Lere local government area of Kaduna State, His Highness Abubakar Garba Mohammad (rtd), is dead.

Mohammed, a retired general, died on Saturday morning in Kaduna.

Many family members of the deceased traditional ruler said that he died after a brief illness.

The emir will be buried in Lere town on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Mr Abubakar ascended the throne of Lere after the demise of Umaru Sani in 2011.

He is survived by four children and many grandchildren.

Born on April 15, 1944, he at­tended Lere and Soba primary schools be­tween 1951 and 1958 be­fore pro­ceeding to Barewa Col­lege Zaria from 1959 to 1963.

He was at the Ah­madu Bello University­sity be­tween 1965 and 1966 be­fore pro­ceed­ing to the Cal­i­for­nia Polytech­nic in the United States after which he joined the Nigerian army.

He rose to the rank of a bri­gadier gen­eral and was a mil­i­tary administrator of Sokoto State from Au­gust 1985 to Septem­ber 1986.