Mohbad: Between Late Singer and Unending Family Drama

 Ferdinand  Ekechukwu

It  doesn’t seem issues surrounding late Nigerian singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, aka Mohbad will rest anytime soon, especially as his father, Joseph Aloba, has been seen continuously making comments deemed unhealthy and disgusting since after the passing of his son.

A former record label member of Marlian Music, Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking chain of controversies. Less than 24 hours after his tragic death, his father hurriedly buried him in Ikorodu, Lagos. Why such hasty act is yet unanswered.

After his burial, Mohabad’s death stirred a nationwide protest, conversation, and soon became a popular affair, with entertainment personalities like Iyabo Ojo, Tonto Dike, Toyin Abraham, VDM, among other social media influencers chasing clout on the guise of demanding justice for the deceased artiste.

Following his death, his family – father, mother, and wife – pitted in various disputes, including matters concerning the paternity of Mohbad’s son, Liam, his property, how Mohbad favoured his mum over his dad with millions, and an autopsy result to ascertain the cause of his death.

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 Marlian record label lead and singer, Naira Marley and his associate, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, among others.

On the police investigations, several discoveries were reported, including professional negligence in administering medication by one auxiliary nurse, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, who had administered various injections to Mohbad, triggering adverse reactions, vomiting, and convulsions.

Efforts to save him were short-lived as Mohbad was pronounced dead upon reaching Cura-Med Hospital, and later Perez Hospital affirmed his demise. The singer’s body was on September 21, 2023, exhumed for autopsy following a widespread outcry by fans and concerned Nigerians.

With Mohbad’s remains being exhumed, his fans and family anticipated the autopsy result would reveal his cause of death. But that was not to be. In January, 2024, his father, Joseph Aloba, disclosed that the delay in burying his son was due to DNA testing and autopsy results. 

Recent Developments

Added to the controversies and issues in a recent developments are separate petitions against Mr. Aloba by the late singer’s mother, Mrs. Abosede Olumiyi, and Mohbad’s wife, popularly known as Wunmi, for alleged plan to kill her, Mohbad’s wife and Mohbad’s son, Liam.

While Wunmi accused Mr. Aloba of cyber-stalking and defamation of character. She further accused him of resorting to “name-calling, character assassination and defamation of her character”.

Wunmi in the petition said that her father-in-law on May 19, and at different times threatened her life and that of her son, Liam, on social media, especially TikTok.

She says, “In addition, Mr. Joseph Aloba also instructed his followers on social media to help him deal with Master Liam Aloba and his mother because he is a bastard child and not the child of the deceased, llerioluwa Promise Aloba.

“That Master Liam Aloba has bowlegs signifying a strange trait not compatible with his deceased son, llerioluwa Promise Aloba.” 

She warned that if he failed to publicly apologise within 14 days of the receipt of the letter, she would be left with no other option but to sue and demand the sum of N50 million in damages. 

Mohbad’s mother Abosede on her part in the petition further alleged that her ex-husband had been threatening her life for refusing to join him to fabricate falsehood against Mohbad’s wife, Omowunmi about the late singer’s death.

Abosede, among her claims, said Aloba has been granting interviews to the press and bloggers on social media wherein he threatens her life.  Adding that she had been seeing strangers lurking around her former residence and that forced her to relocate to another place.

The petitions coincided with Aloba’s appearance on Friday, May 24, as a guest on television, where he argued about the state in which his child died, adding that he believes his son did not die a natural death. He also noted that the paternity of Mohbad’s child, Liam, was a bone of contention for him. 

He said he heard the deceased’s friend saying that the singer argued that the little boy was not his because he slept with his wife Wunmi only once. Wunmi in the eyes of a number of social media users is seen as a groupie. This perception of the lady is often expressed in the comment sections.

Meanwhile, the autopsy conducted on the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, known as Mohbad, had failed to determine the cause of his death, according to a forensic scientist and pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

The forensic scientist and pathologist Mr. Sunday Osiyemi, in a report in May, 2024 told the coroner, Adedayo Shotobi, who is a magistrate, why the cause of Mohbad’s death could not be determined.

The report added that Mohbad’s family lawyer, Wahab Shittu, however, informed journalists that the pathologist suggested the possibility that the late singer’s death might have been connected to specific medications.

The lawyer said: “The pathologist said the body ought to have been exhumed within 12 hours after it was buried to avoid decomposition. So the summary he is saying is that the cause of death cannot be ascertained, and when you say the cause of death cannot be ascertained, it means it is suspicious, it is not clear, and there is no particular reason.”