Estimated reading time: 7 minute(s)
By Abdulqudus Ogundapo
“Breaking News: Ibrahim Babangida is dead” begins a message posted on a Facebook page “Eastern Security Network (ESN)” and Twitter on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
The post included a photo of the former military president with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari embracing each other.
Since the post first appeared here , it has since generated numerous likes, comments, and shares on Facebook and Twitter as it was seen here, here, here , here, and here.
But, is the claim that IBB is dead true? PLATFORM TIMES look into it
Not the first time IBB will be rumoured to be dead!
There have been various news in the media about the death of IBB for a long time, this will not be the first time the former military president will be announced dead on social media.
PLATFORM TIMES observed that on 19th July 2016, IBB as he is fondly called was reported to have given up the ghost in a post on Nairaland. Also, the former president was also rumoured to have died in December 2019, but it was later discovered to be fake.
IBB is hale and healthy
Checks by PLATFORM TIMES showed that the circulated message was another false alarm.
Meanwhile, when PLATFORM TIMES contacted one of the media aides to the former Military President, Mahmud Abdullahi, he said the report of IBB death is false and misleading.
Abdullahi emphasised that death is not hidden in Islam as anyone who dies would be buried, which cannot be hidden.
IBB’s aide lamented that there has been news in the past week that the former Military President is dead, saying he does not know why people are determined to see IBB dead.
“Death is not something that is hidden in the North. If the former President is dead, the news would not be hidden and cannot be hidden,” he stated.
Also, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan visited the former military president at his residence in Minna.
The photos of the visit were posted by the Nation on its Twitter account.
The news that Ibrahim Babangida is dead is fake
About the writer
Abdulqudus Ogundapo is a researcher with an interest in human community development, human rights violations, and social inequalities.
He specializes in investigative reporting, data journalism, feature writing, and fact-based general news report.
He has outstanding verbal and written communication skills and great content marketing skills in creating, optimizing, and distributing content that effectively promotes the company’s brand. He is also a data journalist who has participated in different journalism training across the country.
