IN SHORT: Some Facebook posts claim that Olusegun Obasanjo is dead. But Africa Check couldn't find any credible news reports of his death. The former president's aide has also denied the claims.
A Facebook post says the former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has passed away.
The 6 September 2023 post reads: “BREAKING Décès de l'ancien président du Nigeria OLUSHEGUN OBASANJO.”
Translated from French, this means: “BREAKING: The former president of Nigeria passes away. OLUSHEGUN OBASANJO.”
Obasanjo served as Nigeria's military head of state from 1976 to 1979 and as its democratically elected president from 1999 to 2007.
Posts with the same claim appeared here and here.
But has the former president died? We checked.
Aide debunks news
No reliable media house in Nigeria has reported the death of the former president. Obasanjo is an important public and historical figure and his death would have made headlines both locally and internationally if it were true.
Legit.ng, a Nigerian news blog, reported that the former president’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, debunked the purported news. He said: “He is outside the country! Tanzania or Kenya, as of this morning.”
This is not the first time that the former president has been falsely rumoured to be dead. In 2023, as in 2010, the rumours of his death are false.
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