President Muhammadu Buhari’s longtime friend and political ally, Malam Ismaila Isa Funtua did two things before he died on Monday night.
After feeling uncomfortable around 4pm, he told his family members he needed to do a medical check.
But strangely he drove himself first to his barber.
It was from there he drove himself again to his doctor in Abuja.
“Mallam told his family members that he wanted to see his doctor but decided to visit his barber first. He drove himself to the hospital,” one of his brothers told Daily Trust.
“It is difficult to confirm what really happened but he lost the battle after getting to the hospital”, said The Nation.
“Some said it was cardiac arrest but only his doctors can conform what went wrong.”
P.M.News learnt that Isa Funtua got the heart attack inside the car, with the chauffeur, who was with him, now taking control to drive him to to the hospital.
But he died on the way.
Hours earlier, he promised to speak to Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, on telephone today.
“I spoke to him just three hours before his reported death, and he promised to further call me tomorrow”, the Senator tweeted on Monday night.
Isa Funtua, who was also President Buhari’s in-law will be committed to mother earth today.
He died Monday night, following sudden cardiac arrest.
He was 78 years old.
Isa Funtua founded The Democrat newspaper in 1984 and after the newspaper ceased publishing, his interest in the media never waned.
He was a former President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria(NPAN).
He was also life patron of NPAN and the International Press Institute.
As a businessman, he was the founder of Bulet Construction based in Abuja and built iconic structures in the city.
*Updated at 13:07 GMT, with reports that he had the heart attack inside the car.
