Mohbad’s mother opens up on soured relationship with late singer

Mrs. Abosede Aloba, the mother of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, known as Mohbad, testified in a coroner’s court on Wednesday, revealing that her relationship with her son had not been cordial for a long time. She explained that their estrangement resulted from Mohbad’s father, Joseph, taking him away and instructing him not to contact her. However, she indicated that their relationship improved in 2019.

Abosede’s testimony was given during a coroner’s inquest into the death of her son, who passed away on September 12 at the age of 27 and was buried the following day.

She also recounted that she and Joseph went to the residence of singer Azeez Fashola, commonly known as Naira Marley, to inquire about the ongoing dispute between Mohbad and Marley.

Furthermore, Mr. Sultan Ayobami, Mohbad’s disc jockey, testified that he had known the deceased since 2018 and began working with him in 2022. He revealed that Mohbad had been bullied twice, first at a club on Lagos Island in June and later during a film shoot at Elegushi, Lagos Island. During the film shoot, an altercation between Mohbad and Sam Larry, who arrived with his associates and assaulted Mohbad, was resolved with the intervention of Zlatan. The matter was reported to the police.

Ayobami added that Mohbad’s brother, Aduragbemi Aloba, was present when Larry threatened to kill Mohbad. He mentioned that Mohbad sustained injuries during an altercation with Naira Marley, and a nurse was called to treat him. However, when Ayobami returned from the chemist with medicine, he discovered Mohbad on the floor lifeless, and they rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

During earlier testimony, Mohbad’s father, Joseph, informed the coroner’s court that the deceased had been living with Naira Marley since December 2019. He recounted that he and his son had lived together for 18 years but was unaware of the exact house where his late son resided with Marley.

Joseph mentioned that his son left their home when he reached the age of consent to assist Marley while pursuing his own music career. He affirmed seeing the deceased three days before his death and viewed an image of his son’s casket. According to Joseph, his son had reassured him that he could handle the dispute with Marley.

Joseph also informed the court that his daughter-in-law had put sleeping pills into Mohbad’s food on occasion, and he suspected her of infidelity. The coroner extended condolences to Mohbad’s family at the outset of the proceedings and promised that justice would be served in the case. On October 4, Naira Marley and Lagos socialite Balogun Eletu (Sam Larry) were remanded in police custody in relation to Mohbad’s death.