[link|http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-10-29T235224Z_01_L29881419_RTRUKOC_0_US-NIGERIA-CRASH.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-3|Reuters]:

Among the dead was Ibrahim Muhammadu, who as Sultan of Sokoto was the leader of the Muslim community which makes up about half of Africa's most populous nation.

"The plane crash that happened in Abuja led to the death of our beloved Sultan ... among about 100 people," the governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa, told reporters.

The late news bulletin on state television showed images of the sultan's coffin being buried in Sokoto by a crowd of men in white robes. His son, a senator, also died in the crash.

The Sokoto governor declared six days of mourning for the sultan, who was also the top traditional ruler of northern Nigeria. A respected figure, he helped to curb religious bloodshed in the central state of Plateau in 2004.