IN SHORT: A report circulating on social media in Nigeria claims that the sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, is dead. The claim is false.
Multiple posts on Facebook claim that the sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar died on 29 October 2024.
“Breaking News: Sultan of Sokoto is dead, He died few hours ago in his London apartment after suffering penises infection,” reads the headline of a post made in a Facebook group impersonating the news station Nigerian Television Authority.
“The Sultan of Sokoto has reportedly died in his London apartment a few hours ago. The respected leader, who played a vital role in the spiritual and cultural life of millions in Nigeria and beyond, is said to have succumbed to complications from a medical condition.
“The Board of Trustees of the Sultanate has announced that further details regarding the circumstances of his passing will be released in due course. They are urging the public to remain calm and respectful during this difficult time,” the post reads.
(This post uses the word “reportedly” and the phrase “is said to have succumbed” in the first paragraph, but the rest of the story and the headline are presented as fact.)
The claim also appears here, here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)
Abubakar is the 20th sultan of Sokoto, considered the spiritual leader of all Muslims in Nigeria. He was enthroned in November 2006 after his brother, the 19th sultan, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido Abubakar III, died in a plane crash on 29 October 2006.
Is it true that Abubakar died exactly 18 years after his brother? We checked.
Sultan in Nigeria, not dead
The first reg flag is that there is no media report on the claim. The death of a sultan is a major event that is usually widely reported in the media.
If the claim were true, Abubakar would have been buried in a well-attended public event within 72 hours, in line with Islamic funeral rites. The media would cover this.
Contrary to the claim that Abubakar died in London, it was reported that he addressed the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in a meeting in the city of Kaduna, north-western Nigeria on 28 October 2024.
We found no evidence that he was ill or taken out of Nigeria at the time the claim of his death began to circulate on social media.
The claim is false.
The claim also appears here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
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Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
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Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
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