Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, briefly stumbled on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, during a ceremonial march-past held to welcome him in Türkiye, the transcontinental country that sits partly in Europe and partly in Asia.
The moment happened at the parade ground as Tinubu joined the guard of honour alongside Türkiye’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The programme continued without interruption after the brief incident.
Okay News reports that footage shared on X by Nefes Gazetesi, a Turkish digital news platform, shows Tinubu walking with Erdoğan before he appeared to lose his footing and fall. Security personnel quickly moved in to assist him, and the ceremony proceeded.
The reception began at about 5:00 pm local time and included the playing of the national anthems of both countries, followed by a ceremonial 21-gun salute.
After the formalities, both leaders were expected to move into a closed-door bilateral meeting to discuss issues described as strategically important to their countries.
Tinubu’s trip was presented as his first official visit to the European nation, and it followed an earlier visit to Nigeria by Erdoğan in October 2021, when Nigeria was led by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Nigerian officials said the visit is meant to strengthen the long-standing diplomatic relationship between Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and Türkiye, while also identifying new areas of cooperation that could expand trade, investment, and wider partnership ties.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the two countries planned to hold strategic political and diplomatic discussions covering shared priorities in finance, communication, trade, and investment.
Onanuga also said the visit’s agenda would include engagements between senior officials from both countries, alongside plans to sign memoranda of understanding in areas such as scientific research, energy, technical cooperation, media and communications, military cooperation, and protocol, among other fields.
A business forum was also expected on the sidelines of the trip, with the aim of linking Nigerian and Turkish investors and identifying opportunities for mutual economic growth.
Among the senior Nigerian officials listed as receiving Tinubu at his hotel were the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN); the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; and the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd).
