In a lawsuit filed by Mr. Joseph Aloba, the father of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known by his stage name Mohbad, the Lagos High Court in Ikeja has set July 2, 2025, for judgment. He is contesting the legal advice that exonerated music celebrities Sam Larry and Naira Marley of any involvement in his son’s death.
After hearing arguments from both parties’ attorneys, Justice Taiwo Olatokun set the date. On behalf of the Aloba family, Mr. Aloba is suing, assisted by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Wahab Shittu. The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Attorney General of Lagos State are the responders. Packages for travel
Shittu claimed that the applicant was denied a fair hearing since the DPP’s legal advice preempted the current coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death. Even though the inquest was still ongoing, he argued that some of the suspects listed during the coroner’s proceedings had already been discharged on the DPP’s recommendation.
Ayinde Ibrahim, a legal assistant in the DPP’s office, responded in a counter-affidavit that those released were simply discharged rather than acquitted. According to Ibrahim, “the suspects who were released by the 2nd Respondent’s Legal Advice were only discharged and not acquitted.”
The affidavit further stated that neither the petitioner nor the coroner had access to the complete contents of the case file, and that the DPP proceeded in accordance with its statutory duty after a police investigation file was submitted.
The statement said, “Neither the First Respondent, the Presiding Coroner, nor the Chief Coroner for Lagos State ordered the Second Respondent to cease its mandatory statutory review of the casefile or to notify the Honourable Presiding Coroner whenever it was ready to issue the Legal Advice.”
The DPP insisted that there was no solid proof connecting Mohbad’s death to Naira Marley, Sam Larry, or other people listed in the application, including Prima Boy and Opere Babatunde.
“Upon a total legal review of the case file by the 2nd Respondent, there was no fact disclosed that linked Mr. Abdulazeez Fashola a.k.a Naira Marley, Mr. Samson Balogun Eletu a.k.a Sam Larry and Owoduni Ibrahim a.k.a Prima Boy and Opere Babatunde directly or remotely to and for the death of the Deceased,” the affidavit noted.
Additionally, the respondents contended that Mr. Aloba failed to hire outside investigators or provide fresh information that would have caused the legal advice to be overturned.
The document came to the conclusion that “it is in the interest of justice to dismiss this application against the Respondents because the Applicant in this application has not placed any material facts other than speculative statements and conjectures such that could have faulted the second respondent’s legal advice.”
On July 2, the court will provide a verdict regarding the legal advice’s validity and significance for the current legal discussion surrounding Mohbad’s passing.