The photographer to the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, Mr Mohammed Ovajimo, has died.

Ovajimo’s death was announced by Suleiman Haruna, the Director of Information in the Office of the First Lady, on his Facebook page.

L-R: Late Mohammed Ovajimo; Aisha Buhari

This is just as the First Lady has stayed out of the country for five months, having relocated to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, since September 2020.

The director, who disclosed Ovajimo’s death on Wednesday, did not give further details of the incident.

SaharaReporters learnt that the 39-year-old photographer died in Abuja after a brief illness.

Haruna said, “Today (Wednesday), we lost Mohammed Yusuf Ovajimo, a professional photographer of the First Lady of Nigeria. He is (sic) an accomplished professional with loads of skills and great human relations. He will be greatly missed. May his soul rest in perfect peace.”

SaharaReporters reported on December 15, 2020 that the First Lady had been in Dubai since September after the wedding of her daughter, Hanan, and therefore not been involved in any government activity.

It was also reported that the First Lady was not in a hurry to return to the country as she reportedly stated that the Aso Rock Villa was not secure for her family. SEE

This is especially with a shooting incident which occurred in June 2020, and caused some panic among occupants of the Villa.

On September 4, 2020, Aisha was last seen in public during a flamboyant wedding for President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Hanan, and her groom, Mohammed Turad.

Apart from the opulence on display, event planners for the wedding were flown in from the United Arab Emirates, to add colour and spice to the ceremony.

Earlier in August 2020, the First Lady was also reported to have flown to Dubai in a private jet owned by billionaire Mohammed Indimi under the guise of going for a medical emergency but which was to shop for luxury items ahead of the wedding.

Most of the items, including souvenirs used for the wedding, were brought in from the foreign country.

A top source had told SaharaReporters in December 2020 that the First Lady had now relocated quietly to the UAE and that she would not be returning anytime soon.

“Aisha Buhari has relocated quietly to Dubai. She had been going even before the daughter’s wedding. For three months now, she had been there.

“Before the wedding, she also stayed for months during lockdown, shopping and relaxing. She was initially planned to be sick (sic). But since the end of the wedding, she has been away.

“And then, Zahra had a baby. Aisha has been away since. Occasionally, she issues statements announcing the distribution of palliatives. She cited insecurity in the Villa after that shooting incident,” a presidency source had stated.