Nigerian president dies at age 58

Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria

Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua, long plagued by poor health, has died at age 58, almost three months after his vice president assumed control of Africa’s most populous nation, Yar’Adua’s spokesman said.

Yar’Adua died at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Aso Rock presidential villa with his wife, Turai, at his side, presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi told The Associated Press, his voice cracking with emotion. Adeniyi did not give a cause of death.

A Muslim, Yar’Adua will be buried today, Adeniyi said.

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