Researched by Alfa Shaban
The death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was announced on his official X handle on July 13, 2025.
The message, signed by his spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, read in part: “The family has announced the passing of the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, this afternoon, in a clinic in London.”
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu subsequently dispatched a government delegation led by Vice President Kashim Shetimma to bring the body of the late president back to Nigeria.
In commemoration, President Tinubu declared Tuesday, July 15, 2025, a public holiday as the country awaited the arrival of Buhari’s body in his native Katsina State before being sent to his hometown of Daura, where he was buried per Islamic customs with full military honours within his compound.
RelatedNews
Social media platforms, as usual, were flooded with posts about the life and times of the one-time military turned democratic president, who was the first opposition leader to defeat an incumbent president under the current Constitution in 2015.
However, FactSpace Nigeria found that amid discussions regarding the legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, some claims and narratives worthy of fact-checking came up. In this report, we will verify three of the claims.
Claim One – Video of the body of Buhari leaving London
A video posted on X on July 14, 2025, shows a casket being pushed into a standby ambulance, and captioned: “Former President, late Muhammadu Buhari’s body set to leave London to Nigeria. RIP Buhari.”
The post had the following statistics: 180K views, 97 comments, 82 reports, 388 likes and 74 bookmarks
Fact-check
FactSpace Nigeria analysed the 42-second video and found that it was not taken in London but rather in Nigeria. The following four points disprove the assertion that the coffin being loaded into an ambulance was that of the former president.
- There is a seal of the Nigerian federal government on a part of the buildings at the particular airport visible in the video, which justifies that the video was shot in Nigeria, not London.
- There is an inscription that reads UNHAS HELICOPTER CHECK-IN-AREA, which, according to our check, is of the UN Humanitarian Air Service facility somewhere in Borno State.
- An aeroplane in the shot had the Rano Air inscription, contrary to the fact that the plane that was sent to bring Buhari back was a Nigerian Air Force plane.
- Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, who was the only member of the government delegation in London to bring the body of former President Buhari back, was captured in the video; however, the delegation was led by Nigeria’s Vice President and President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff.
It is also worth noting that Buhari’s body was flown back on July 15 straight to Katsina and driven to Daura for final prayers and burial.
Verdict
Therefore, the video purporting that Buhari’s body was leaving London on July 14 was False.
Claim 2 – Buhari asked his wife to seek forgiveness from Nigerians
Barely 24 hours after the death announcement, a popular page on Facebook, APA Hausa, reported that Aisha Buhari, the former First Lady, had made some comments.
The message posted in Hausa purported that Buhari had instructed her to seek forgiveness from Nigerians on his behalf whenever he dies. The message had been widely interacted with (5.8K reactions, 6.2K comments and 12K shares) and had been featured in publications on some portals (here and here).
Fact-check
FactSpace Nigeria conducted an advanced search of recent comments by the former First Lady, and no credible news website – local or international – has reported or attributed anything to her regarding the death of her husband.
The first images of Aisha Buhari after Buhari’s passing were during a condolence visit by the Vice President and his entourage in London on July 14, before she escorted the remains of her husband’s body on the same flight back home.
FactSpace Nigeria has reached out to APA Hausa for comments on the now-viral claim. We will incorporate the response when we get it.
Verdict
The claim that Mrs Buhari has asked for forgiveness for her late husband is unproven
Claim Three – Image of Buhari’s remains on the tarmac after arrival in Nigeria
A post on X on July 15, 2025, with a picture of a corpse draped in the Nigerian flag on a stretcher at the airport with military men standing in salute was captioned: “FPMB flew in.. ensconced inside the main cabin as a passenger instead of the cargo hold. Thank you, Tinubu.”
The post had been viewed over 47,000 times with 26 comments, 215 reposts, 1,600 likes and 19 bookmarks.
Fact-check
While there was no direct comment on the attached image of former President Buhari, considering the timeline of the post, it has the potential to mislead.
Therefore, FactSpace Nigeria used Google Reverse Image Search and found that the image was not of the late president.
The image was taken in November 2024 when the remains of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, arrived at the Nigerian Air Force wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos en route Abuja for his burial.
It is, however, true that the body of the late president was flown back in the passenger compartment and draped in the Nigerian flag, as evidenced in the disembarkation of the body when the government delegation arrived at the Umaru Musah Yar’Adua Airport in Katsina.
Verdict
The image associated with the late Buhari’s arrival in Katsina State is False.
Claim Four – A video from Buhari’s graveyard
A graveyard video with Buhari’s official presidential portrait posted on it had a caption that read: “May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus, and may he forgive all his shortcomings,” posted on X on July 16 was widely interacted with. (Over 1.2 million views, 201 comments, 399 reposts, 1.7K likes and 510 bookmarks).
Fact-check
FactSpace Nigeria reviewed videos shared from the graveyard of Buhari during his burial, an analysis shows that Buhari was not buried draped with the Nigerian flag as is the case in the video referred to above.
There were more than four people standing in the inner perimeter to the two-chamber grave who received and laid the body of the former president in the grave. There is also no crowd in the viral video whereas Buhari’s was very well attended (see here, here, here).
Verdict:
The supposed graveside video is not of the former Nigerian president. The claim associated with it is False.
