Former Nigerian senator and ambassador, Professor Jibril Aminu is dead. He died at the age of 85.

His death occurred on Wednesday in Abuja after a long illness.

Professor Aminu served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States from 1999 to 2003.

He later became a senator, representing Adamawa Central Senatorial District from 2003 to 2011.

A respected heart specialist (cardiologist), Professor Aminu got his first medical degree from the University of Ibadan in 1965.

He later earned a PhD in medicine from the Royal Post-Graduate Medical School in London in 1972.

He is survived by two wives and nine children.