Court Grants Mohbad’s Family Request to Conduct Independent Autopsy for Late Singer

Wale Igbintade

The Coroner’s inquest into the death of the late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, known as Mohbad, has granted the family permission to conduct an independent autopsy and toxicology test on the late singer.
The court, presided over by Magistrate T.A. Sonubi, approved the request following an application filed by the lawyers representing Aloba family.
The application sought an order allowing a private, licensed, and certified pathologist to conduct a comprehensive independent autopsy on Mohbad’s body, currently held at the Military Hospital in Yaba, Lagos State.
Additionally, it requested permission for an independent evaluation to collect various samples, including skin, urine, blood, and other fluids obtained by the Chief Medical Examiner of Lagos State during the initial autopsy.

The Aloba family pursued the second autopsy due to suspicions surrounding Mohbad’s death on September 12, 2023. They expressed a strong desire for an independent autopsy and toxicology test to provide a second opinion on the circumstances of his death.

While granting the order, Magistrate Sonubi stipulated that all legal expenses for the autopsy and toxicology process would be borne by the Aloba family. Furthermore, he ordered that Mohbad’s father, mother, and wife must be presence during the autopsy.

The earlier autopsy and toxicology tests conducted by the government, presented by Prof. Soyemi of the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, were deemed inconclusive.

The Aloba family’s legal team, led by Mr. Wahab Shittu and Taiwo Odumosu had previously rejected these results and called for an independent toxicology test.

Meanwhile, the application to recall witnesses who had given testimony earlier was not granted but the application to call new witnesses in this matter was granted on the basis that the family would provide further details of the witnesses for a witness Summons to be issued by the Court.

Wunmi Aloba also applied that she should be allowed to bury the late singer but in response, the legal team offered that it depends on how soon the autopsy and the toxicology test could be conducted.