Mohbad: Naira Marley, Sam Larry risk subpoena

A Coroner’s Court sitting in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State has threatened to subpoena key witnesses for failing to appear at the ongoing inquest into the death of singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.

Magistrate T. A. Sotobi had ordered substituted services for the witnesses after granting an application by Mohbad’s father, Joseph Aloba, to serve a witness summons on additional witnesses through a reputable national newspaper and social media.

These include Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley; Samson Eletu aka Sam Larry; Mohbad’s sister-in-law, Karimot Ogunbayo; Mohbad’s lawyer, Oluwasanmi Falade, the nurse who was said to have treated the deceased singer during the period, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, and the driver who drove him to the hospital, Fidelis Esanbor.

Speaking to our correspondent on Wednesday, the head of the Aloba family’s legal team, Taiwo Odumosu, said Mohbad’s ally, Boluwatife Adeyemo aka Darosha, was the only key witness present at the court sitting on Wednesday.

Odumosu said the magistrate had considered issuing a subpoena on them if they did not appear at the next court sitting.

He said, “Today’s sitting was to continue with the examination of witnesses to know what happened to Mohbad and how he died. So, among all the key witnesses invited and served through substituted means, only Darosha was in court.

“Meanwhile, the magistrate said she would issue another witness summons one last time chance. She said if they fail to appear on the next adjourned date, they will be subpoenaed.”

Thethe hearing was adjourned till September 30.

Meanwhile, the family of the late singer has expressed disappointment and frustration with the police investigation into his death.

Odumosu, in a statement signed by Emmanuel Oroko of Hilceetee Partner, obtained by PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, frowned on the police’s role in the investigation.

According to him, Odumosu criticised the police for relying on witnesses’ views to reach conclusions without conducting a thorough investigation.

“On all fronts of the investigation, the police officers who investigated the murder of the late singer exhibited overt complicity in the narrative. The police relied on witnesses’ views to reach legal conclusions. They failed to tell us what investigation they carried out and what they discovered.

“Secondly, when the court granted us an order to conduct an independent autopsy and toxicology test, the police refused to cooperate with us. Based on our interaction with the forensic pathologists and their requirements, we wrote the police to give access to the forensic experts to see items taken from the scene of the crime including notes made by them.

“All these will help the forensic experts to have a better view of what happened and also form a reasonable conclusion after considering all facts and evidence before them,” he added.

Odumosu said there was no message from the police about when the pathologists should visit them to view the items to aid their investigations.

He explained that despite writing a reminder to them, the police didn’t acknowledge the letters.

On the embalmment allegedly carried out by Darosha, Odumosu stated that no one has been charged in court.

“We petitioned the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission to remove the officers in charge of the case because of their apparent mishandling of the investigation into the death of Mohbad.

“The Police Service Commission is the civilian oversight body established under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 for the Nigeria Police. Its powers include appointment, promotion, discipline and dismissal of erring police officers except the Inspector General of Police. We are yet to get a response from them,” he said.

Odumosu however appealed to the PSC to investigate the police officers who had the first chance to discover the source and circumstances of the death of Mohbad but failed to do the needful.

Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.

Being a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022. The Lagos State Police Command had on September 18, 2023, inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s death.

His death also led to the arrest of Naira Marley and Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, amongst others.

The singer’s body was on September 21, 2023, exhumed for autopsy to unravel the cause of his death.