A POST circulating on social media claims that Nigeria’s late former president, Muhammadu Buhari, is still alive and currently residing in Egypt.
The post features images showing a young woman alongside an individual resembling Buhari.
A verified user @AndrenalineJ004 made the post on May 19, 2026, with an error-laden caption: “So buhari is still alive my sister meet him in egypt 🇪🇬, baba don turn old taker“.
The post generated over 365,000 views, 2,300 likes and over 120 reposts, as of 9:15am (GMT) on May 19, with many users questioning the validity of the images.
READ: Fake report of Christian convert, Zainab Muhamadu circulates online
CLAIM
Images prove late Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is still alive and living in Egypt.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE, and the accompanying images are AI-generated deepfakes.
Late President Muhammadu Buhari passed away at the age of 82 on July 13, 2025, at a hospital in London following a prolonged illness. His death was officially announced by the Presidency and extensively reported by major national and international media outlets, including The ICIR, and The Guardian. Following his demise, his remains were flown back to Nigeria, and he was buried according to Islamic rites on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.
To verify the authenticity of the trending images, The FactCheckHub analysed the images using Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool and the result of the analysis shows that the images are highly likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content. Specifically, the detection software returned an 84.3 per cent probability score for a Deepfake face-swap and a 31.9 per cent score for a fully AI-generated image environment, indicating deliberate digital manipulation.
READ ALSO: Viral sponsored post falsely claims Buhari endorsed fraudulent trading platform
Furthermore, a closer physical examination of the images reveals classic visual anomalies common to AI generation. The facial features of the individual mimicking Buhari look heavily altered, displaying an unnatural, hyper-smooth texture, distorted alignment around the frames of the glasses, and digital blending artefacts along the edges where the two subjects meet in the frame.
VERDICT
The claim that Muhammadu Buhari is alive in Egypt is FALSE. The former president passed away and was buried in July 2025. The images being circulated are deepfakes.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
