Nigerian man believed to be 120 years old marks 94 years of marriage with four wives who are all still alive

• A man believed to be over 120 has reportedly celebrated 94 years of marriage.

• The Ilorin man was filmed alongside his four wives, who are all reportedly alive.

• His age and marriage history have not been independently verified.

A video circulating on social media has shown a man believed to be over 120 years old, said to be from Ilorin, celebrating what is being described as his 94th wedding anniversary with his four wives, all of whom are reportedly still alive.

The clip, posted by Badagry Blog on Instagram, shows the elderly man surrounded by his wives, with those sharing the video describing the milestone as one of the most remarkable displays of longevity and marital endurance seen in recent memory.

None of the details, including his age, exact location or the duration of the marriages, have been independently verified. His age is described as believed rather than confirmed, and no documentation has been presented to support the claim publicly.

That said, the absence of documentation does not automatically make the claim implausible in a Nigerian context. Across much of Africa, birth registration systems were either non-existent or inaccessible for large portions of the 20th century, meaning that many elderly Africans have no paper trail confirming their date of birth. 

Researchers studying longevity on the continent have consistently noted that the lack of verified African supercentenarians reflects record-keeping gaps far more than it reflects actual human experience.

What makes this particular story unusual even within Nigeria's tradition of extraordinary longevity claims is the combination of factors, not just the reported age, but the fact that all four wives are said to be alive and that the marriages have reportedly lasted nearly a century.

Globally, the oldest verified person ever recorded was French woman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122. The current oldest living verified person is British woman Ethel Caterham, who turned 117 in August 2026. Reaching 120 with verified documentation would place this man among the oldest people ever recorded in human history.

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Comments under the original post have been largely celebratory, with many Nigerians pointing to the man's longevity as evidence of the benefits of a simpler, less stressful way of life, clean eating and strong community bonds.

The video continues to circulate widely, with no further details about the man's identity made public at the time of this report.