Nigerian man buries father in £66,000 BMW X5: is it a hoax?

A Nigerian man has given his late father a bizarre send-off by reportedly burying him in a brand-new BMW X5 instead of a coffin.

The son, identified simply as Azubuike from the Nigerian state of Anambra, spent 32m Nigerian naira (£66,000) on the premium SUV for the burial, The Sun reports.

Images of the funeral show a group of men in suits lowering the BMW X5 into a 6ft-deep grave in the rural village where Azubuike’s father lived, the newspaper says.

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Metro suggests that Azubuike may have decided to finally fulfil a promise to one day buy his father a car.

The images have gained global attention after being posted on social media sites, with many people calling the stunt a waste of money.

One Twitter user argued that the cash spent on the car should have been donated to “assist the poor”.

Another user said it will only be a matter of time before “grave robbers” take the car.

However, social media news site Elite Readers says the “lack of information” around the funeral suggest it may be a hoax.

The website speculates that the images may have been taken on the set of a movie being filmed in Nigeria, although details of the film are equally lacking.