A video purportedly showing former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari being wheeled out of a London hospital after his death has surfaced online.
The 48-second clip was first posted on TikTok by a user with the handle @Muhammad_Buharii. It features a montage of images, including photos of Buhari and his wife, Aisha Buhari, alongside video footage of a patient being wheeled through a hospital corridor by white paramedics. A Hausa song plays in the background. The caption, written in Hausa, translates to: “May God forgive you.”
READ ALSO: Claim that Aisha Buhari said her husband died in 2017 resurfaces online
Since its upload, the video has amassed over one million views, 40,200 likes, 3,804 saves, and 2,825 reposts. It has also spread across multiple WhatsApp groups, where it is accompanied by a caption suggesting it shows Buhari’s final moments.
The video has also been circulated on multiple WhatsApp groups. On the platform, it is accompanied by a similar narrative, suggesting it shows Buhari’s final moments.
The caption reads:
“Buhari’s Corpse wheel out of Hospital in London, ready to be flown back to Nigeria.”
Former President Muhammadu Buhari passed away on Sunday, July 13, at a private clinic in London, United Kingdom, where he had been receiving medical treatment in recent weeks. His body was flown back to Nigeria on Tuesday, July 15, for final burial rites held in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State.
CLAIM
The video shows Buhari being wheeled out of a hospital in London.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub indicate that the claim is MISLEADING.
When screenshots from the video were subjected to a Google Lens search, it returned visually similar results, including featured images from news articles and, in one case, an earlier version of the video posted on YouTube.
The video, originally uploaded in March 2023 by a YouTube channel named Q’hubo Bucaramanga, was two minutes and two seconds long and contained Spanish text. In the footage, hospital staff could be seen forming a line while paramedics wheeled a patient down the hallway. Spanish music played in the background as hospital staff observed and recorded the procession.
The caption of the YouTube video, written in Spanish, read:
El año pasado, Mercedes Castañeda, una santandereana de 49 años, viajó a Estados Unidos para cumplir su sueño americano.
Así fue la calle de honor con la que la despidieron antes de entrar a cirugía para donar sus órganos tras su muerte cerebral.
La visa humanitaria no fue posible para sus hijas Wendy López y María Valentina Marcucci, quienes no pudieron despedirla.
When translated to English, it reads:
Last year, Mercedes Castañeda, a 49-year-old woman from Santander, travelled to the United States to pursue her American dream.
This was the honor guard formed to bid her farewell before she went into surgery to donate her organs after being declared brain-dead.
A humanitarian visa was not granted to her daughters, Wendy López and María Valentina Marcucci, so they were unable to say goodbye.
Spanish-language news outlets that also used the same footage or featured image confirmed the story.
READ ALSO : Viral video does not show Buhari’s burial
According to Infobae, an Argentine digital news and economy newspaper, Castañeda died in March 2023 at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Las Vegas after suffering brain death caused by a ruptured aneurysm. She had collapsed after work and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors confirmed the diagnosis. Following this, her family consented to donate her organs.
Metro Ecuardo, a global news and entertainment platform, similarly reported the story as part of the hospital’s protocol for honoring organ donors, a farewell ceremony known as the “Honor Walk” was held.
In this tribute, hospital staff lined the hallways to pay their final respects as her body was wheeled to the operating room for organ harvesting. This gesture is common in U.S. hospitals to honour organ donors, which is what the video captured.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Buhari being wheeled out from the hospital in London is MISLEADING. The viral video does not show Muhammadu Buhari being wheeled out of a London hospital. The footage was originally published in March 2023 and depicts a farewell ceremony in a U.S. hospital for Mercedes Castañeda, a Colombian woman declared brain-dead who was about to donate her organs. The video has no connection to Buhari, his health, or any events in Nigeria.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org.
