But Nigeria refused to bend to Mr Buhari’s will. Almost 500 politicians and businessmen were arrested for corruption and sent to jail by military tribunals. A new currency was issued to flush out the stashes piled floor to ceiling in the homes of the elite. For many military men this purge was too close for comfort—and too uncompromising.

Buhari, a former military general who campaigned on rooting out government corruption, has died at age 82, the presidential press office said in a statement on Sunday.

Nigeria's former president Muhammadu Buhari, who led Africa's most populous country between 2015 and 2023, died in London on Sunday, a presidential spokesperson said. "President Buhari died today in London at about 4:30 p.