I am real and not a lookalike, insists Nigerian president

MUHAMMADU BUHARI, the Nigerian president, has denied claims that he had died and been replaced by a Sudanese impostor, breaking his silence on a rumour that has circulated on social media for months.

Mr Buhari, who is running for reelection in February, spent five months in Britain last year being treated for an undisclosed illness.

One theory widely aired on social

‘A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health. It’s real me, I assure you, and I will still go strong’

media – and by some political opponents – was that he had been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan called Jubril.

No evidence has been presented, but videos making the claim have been viewed thousands of times on Youtube and Facebook.

“It’s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong,” Mr Buhari told his fellow Nigerians in a town hall session in Poland on Sunday, where he was attending a conference.

“A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health,” he said, adding that those who spread the rumour were “ignorant and irreligious”.

The presidency circulated Mr Buhari’s comments in an emailed statement entitled: “It’s Real Me, President Buhari Responds to Cloning Allegation.”