A Nigerian nonagenarian has angrily reacted to reports of his death by claiming they have been grossly planted by his detractors.
Mohammed Bello Abubakr has 97 wives and nearly 200 children and was recently reported dead in the Nigerian media, a characterisation he has stridently come out to deny.
“My dear, I am very much alive, hale and hearty,” he told Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper.
“The rumour is baseless and can best be described as the work of my detractors because they envy what God has done and what He is still doing for me.” he added.
Bello currently has 97 wives, the Punch reports, and has divorced ten within his lifetime. He claims the Quran allows him to marry as many women as he wants, although most Muslim scholars agree the limit is four wives.
According to him, even at 97 and with controversy surrounding his actions, he has no intention of stopping marrying as many as he can.
“What I am doing is divine. It is an assignment and I will keep doing it till the end,” he concluded.