President Bola Tinubu briefly stumbled during a ceremonial march-past at his official reception in Turkey on Tuesday.
The incident occurred as President Tinubu, alongside his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reviewed a guard of honour at the parade ground. Video footage shows the Nigerian leader losing his footing and falling to the ground before being promptly assisted by security personnel.
The programme continued without further disruption following the momentary incident.
The reception, which began around 5:00 p.m. local time, featured the playing of both national anthems and a 21-gun salute. After the ceremonies, both leaders proceeded to a closed-door bilateral meeting to discuss matters of strategic importance.
This marks President Tinubu’s first official visit to Turkey, reciprocating President Erdoğan’s visit to Nigeria in October 2021. The visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation in finance, trade, investment, and defence.
Senior Nigerian officials present include the Attorney-General, Lateef Fagbemi; Finance Minister, Wale Edun; Solid Minerals Minister, Dele Alake; and Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa (retd). A business forum is also scheduled to connect investors from both countries.
Watch video here:
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’ın karşıladığı Nijerya Cumhurbaşkanı Bola Ahmed Tinubu yere düştü pic.twitter.com/sxpgNBhtBM
— Nefes Gazetesi (@nefesgazete) January 27, 2026
