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Claim: A Tiktok user claimed Nigerian skitmaker and musician Nasiru Bolaji, popularly known as Nasboi, is dead.
Verdict: False! The Instagram sensation sampled his forthcoming song on social media hours after his alleged death and has remained active since then.
Full Text
In recent years, the world has witnessed several death hoaxes involving celebrities. Social media has enabled the virality of this trend. In most cases, unsuspecting members often believe the narratives to be true only to realise later that such are false.
The development has become a subject of concern to many stakeholders and public figures, who are usually the subjects of such death rumours.
In 2023, for instance, DUBAWA spotlighted some public figures who were victims of the death hoaxes.
The act has been linked to several factors, including misleading the public, chasing clout, and as a publicity stunt.
About two weeks ago, Ngozi Ezeonu, the ace Nollywood actress, became one of the victims of such death hoaxes. Reports had swirled in some quarters on social media that the 58-year-old actress had died and that her son confirmed the incident.
However, in a post via her Instagram page, the film star debunked the claim and tackled those “peddling death rumours without proof and confirmation.”
Recently, a TikTok user @speed_akpi claimed popular skitmaker Nasboi had died. He attributed his alleged death to depression.
“Just in: Nasboi just died this morning over depression. OMG (Oh My God) I can’t believe this, Jesus,” the text on a random video of the skitter shared by the TikTok user reads.
DUBAWA observed that the page, which had only 60 followers, was impersonating the account of Speed Darlington, the Nigerian singer, comedian, and social media personality.
The user claimed the account was Darlington’s official page. A concerned Twitter user who had come across the TikTok video reposted it and sought clarification on its authenticity.
Given the personality involved and the tendency of such a claim to go viral, DUBAWA decided to probe the post.
Verification
When DUBAWA checked the official Instagram handle, it was discovered that Nasboi posted a video (skit) a day after the claim was made (Jan. 15, 2023). He has also published several other contents on his page since the alleged claim about his death, as seen here, here, and here.
Nasboi has been a viral sensation since he released ‘Umbrella,’ his hit song featuring Wande Coal, the Nigerian musician.
He launched the #umbrellaopenversechallenge to promote the song, inviting Nigerians to demonstrate their creativity by using their lyrics to the beat.
Nasboi has consistently posted several versions of the challenge on his social media handles.
On Jan. 17 – two days after his alleged death – the entertainer took to X (formerly Twitter) to ask for the opinions of his followers about the sound for his forthcoming project.
Also, there is no such information on major news outlets or blogs in the country.
Conclusion
The claim that Nasboi passed away is false. The singer has been promoting his ‘Umbrella’ song and a forthcoming social media project.
