Former presidential aspirant Umaru Shinkafi is dead!

Former presidential aspirant Umaru Shinkafi has died in a London hospital Wednesday evening after a prolonged illness.

According to Premium Times, ''the body will be flown back to Nigeria on Friday for burial at Abubakar III burial ground in Sokoto.''

Shinkafi, who held the traditional title of Marafan Sokoto, was a native of Zamfara State.

The Marafan Sokoto was the vice-presidential candidate of Olu Falae in the APP/AD alliance in 1999, although they lost to the Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku Abubakar PDP ticket.

He was also head of the secret police, the Nigeria Security Organisation (NSO), which has been rebranded Department of State Services (DSS), from 1979 to 1983.

He was running neck-and-neck with Adamu Ciroma in the race for the presidential ticket of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1992 before the military government cancelled the primary.

Shinkafi is survived by three wives, and five children. One of his daughters is Zainab, wife of Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, and another is Hadiza, the wife of Zamfara governor, AbdulAzeez Yari.