Nigeria's Buhari denies dying and being replaced by lookalike

ABUJA: Nigeria`s President Buhari on Sunday denied claims that he had died and been replaced by a Sudanese impostor, breaking his silence on a rumour that has circulated on social media for months. 

Buhari, who is running for re-election in February, spent five months in Britain last year being treated for an undisclosed illness. One theory widely aired on social media - and by some political opponents - was that he had been replaced by a lookalike from Sudan called Jubril.

No evidence has been presented, but videos making the claim have still been viewed thousands of times on YouTube and Facebook. 

"It`s real me, I assure you. I will soon celebrate my 76th birthday and I will still go strong," Buhari told Nigerians in a town hall session in Poland, where he was attending a conference, when asked about Jubril. 

"A lot of people hoped that I died during my ill health," he said, adding that those who spread the rumour were "ignorant and irreligious".

The presidency circulated Buhari`s comments in an emailed statement entitled "It`s Real Me, President Buhari Responds to Cloning Allegation".