Former Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano on Friday joined the growing list of prominent Nigerians “killed” by social media, after false reports of his death spread widely, rekindling concerns over why citizens are so eager to broadcast and sometimes celebrate the imaginary demise of powerful people.
While this news was trending, his former Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Don Adinuba, clearly criticized the report.
Adinuba issued a statement describing reports of Obiano's death as “false and misleading” and urged the public not to pay attention to them. “I just spoke to Chief Obiano this morning. He is hale and hearty. There is no truth in the rumor about his death,” he said, warning against what he called “irresponsible journalism.”
The former commissioner stressed that such unverified information could create unnecessary panic and distress not only for Obiano's family and supporters but also within the wider political community.
“This is not just about Chief Obiano. This is about the ethics of journalism and the harm that fake news causes in our society,” Adinuba said.
Rumors claiming that Obiano had died in a London hospital due to complications of urinary cancer and severe heart failure circulated shortly after reports from Sahara Reporters that his health had rapidly deteriorated. According to sources cited in these reports, the former governor was in intensive medical care in London, after his condition had deteriorated in recent months.
not just obiano
These untimely obituaries are no longer rare. Over the years, Nigerians have “assassinated” public figures from former head of state Yakubu Gowon to Nollywood legend Chiwetalu Agu. Some victims read of their “death” online before family members knew.
Azikiwe, Obasanjo, Mahmood Yakubu, others…
Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yaqoob was also rumored to have died at different times.
The most famous of these fake deaths occurred in 1989 when it was reported that Nigeria's first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Owele of Onitsha, had died. He was 85 years old then.
Nigerians and members of the global community were shocked and saddened, so much so that many – even his Igbo relatives, friends and political allies – took the news at its face value, and began expressing condolences to the Azikiwe family, and the government and people of Nigeria, and arranged for a state burial for him.
But the truth was that the “Great Zik of Africa” was “alive, well and healthy”, and at that time, was not ready to join his ancestors!
He wanted those who spread the news of death to drown in their own juice. As if his prayers had worked, some of those who had hurried to arrange his funeral died before his death on May 11, 1996, at the age of 91.
Also read: I am alive, well, healthy and in excellent health – Obiano
On December 31, 2010, Obasanjo quoted a friend as saying that he “counted seven times” that it was rumored that Obasanjo had died between 1999 and 2010. Obasanjo said this at his hill top home in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, when he addressed the news of his “passing”.
Obasanjo said: “I think people take pleasure in speculation and rumours. A friend of mine told me this morning (December 31, 2010), the news of my death, and he was trying to confirm. He said he had counted seven times that I have been rumored to be dead from the eve of my inauguration as the democratically elected President of Nigeria in 1999 until today.”
According to him: “Those who indulge in it – and who have a superstition that when there are such rumors and speculations, it means longevity – they will not give up. Longevity or not, what I know is that until the good God, who created me, decides to say yes, 'I have reached my take-off point to return to Him,' people can speculate, people can rumor and that will be their own hindrance.
“What I say to Nigerians is that wishes are not horses. People wish and God does not fulfill it. But I know that whatever is created must die sometimes. When my time comes, it will not be decided by man; it is in the hands of God,” he said.
As for Professor Yakubu, the second rumor about his death came in December 2024, three years after one such “fake news,” prompting the INEC Chairman to declare, “I am alive, well and healthy,” and presented an itinerary of his activities in Nigeria during the time frame of his alleged hospitalization in London.
A statement by Yakubu’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, reads in part: “Our attention has been drawn to a fake news being circulated by a section of the social media, claiming the alleged death of INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, in a London hospital. The story first appeared on Monday, December 9, 2024.
“We appeal to the public not to pay heed to the rumour. Professor Yacob is alive, well and healthy. In fact, he has not traveled to London in the last two years. He was present at an interactive meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Affairs on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
“He also chaired the Commission's meeting with local election commissioners on Thursday, December 12, 2024. Both events were widely covered on television and reported on the front page of most newspapers yesterday, Friday, December 13, 2024.”
A series of high-profile death rumors
Apart from the cases listed above, some other prominent Nigerians have been the subject of persistent, yet false, death rumors, often spread on social media. These include:
Taorid Lagbaja: The Nigerian Army in October 2024 officially dismissed rumors that the army chief had died in an undisclosed hospital abroad.
Olu Jacobs: The veteran Nollywood actor has been the subject of repeated death rumours, which his wife and colleagues have consistently debunked by providing evidence that he is alive.
ibrahim babangida: The former military ruler has repeatedly denied rumors of his death for years, with his allies condemning the reports as malicious.
Muhammadu Buhari: During his presidency, especially when he was abroad for health reasons, rumors and conspiracy theories about his death (such as the “Djibril of Sudan” body double theory) were rampant. He ultimately died in July 2025.
Why are Nigerians so ready to kill the living?
The first is the politicization of rumours. In a hyper-polarized country, fake death announcements are weaponized to humiliate rivals, settle political scores or taunt opponents. A politician facing trial or controversy may suddenly “die” on social media, not from illness, but from public hostility. Obiano's case fits this pattern: a former governor embroiled in an EFCC investigation becomes an easy target for malicious speculation.
The second is the desire to sensationalize. Digital platforms value speed more than accuracy, with unverified news spreading faster than corrections. Death, real or imagined, attracts attention, clicks and virality. In a country where distrust of institutions is high, many people believe anything before it is confirmed.
The third is society's collective frustration under pressure. Nigerians grappling with economic decline, insecurity and daily hardships often vent their anger on public figures. The death of powerful people is sometimes seen as a symbolic victory against a system that is perceived to have failed them. Morbid fantasies turn into rumors, and rumors turn into “breaking news.”
Finally, there is a cultural attraction to the dramatic. Nigerians love abstract, conspiracies and supernatural things. Rumors of the death of all three are sitting at the crossroads.
