In a formal letter addressed to the Chief Coroner of the High Court of Lagos State in Ikeja, through his chambers, Falana expressed deep concern about the “very tragic death”.
A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has requested a coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Nigerian musician Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.
In a formal letter addressed to the Chief Coroner of the High Court of Lagos State in Ikeja, through his chambers, Falana expressed deep concern about the “very tragic death”.
In the letter titled: "Request for inquest into the tragic death of Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba aka "Mohbad" who died under mysterious circumstances in Ikorodu, Lagos," the Senior Advocate of Nigeria cited the Lagos State Coroner’s Law of 2007, specifically Section 15, which stipulates that an inquest should be conducted when a coroner becomes aware of a death within their district that results from violent, unnatural, or suspicious circumstances.
The letter dated September 18, 2023 partly read: "We are a firm of legal practitioners committed to the defence of human rights, rule of law and public accountability in Nigeria.
"We are aware of the very tragic death of llerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as "Mohbad" who died on September 12 2023 under mysterious circumstances in Ikorodu, Lagos It was alleged that the young man showed no signs of ailment before he left home and even performed at a show in ikorodu but died hours after his performance.
"Given the needless death of llerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, we are compelled to request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner's inquest to be conducted into the cause of death of this young promising musician and make appropriate recommendations pursuant to Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner's Law 2007 which provides that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his Coroner District is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situationWe hereby request Your Lordship to conduct an inquest into the circumstances surrounding this tragic death in Lagos State and we are confident that Your Lordship will accede to our request with utmost urgency."
In a viral video, Mohbad’s mother said her son had no rest from the moment singer and rapper, Azeez Adeshina Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, came into his life.
Naira Marley is the owner of Marlian Music, the record label that formerly signed the late Mohbad.
Mohbad died on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. Following his death, there have been allegations that he was assaulted by Naira Marley and his crew.
On October 6, 2022, Mohbad made a series of posts which read, “The events of the last two days have left indelible scars in my heart. I have always just wanted to create good music and to provide for my family and myself through my music. As an Artiste from the street, I thought the Marlian Family would be a good place for me.
“However, recent events and certain truths have come to light which threaten my peace, health and career. Because of these issues, I informed Naira Marley on the Marlian WhatsApp group chat of my intention to change my manager.
“This didn’t go down well with my current Manager Tunde (His Brother) There were instant angry outbursts and protests from him in the chat. I went to Naira Marley’s house with my Producer and my friend on the 4th of October, 2022, to have this conversation and reach a peaceful-resolution.
“We were in the studio, and some of the guys who work with Naira- Sid, Shuddy, Seyi and others- were present, as well as Naira and Tunde. I noticed Tunde was quite agitated as we started the discussion. In the middle of the conversation, Tunde became violent and-attacked me.
“The guys I was with were also attacked, humiliated and stripped naked by Sid, Shuddy and Seyi and some of the other boys. We were barely able to escape. 3 of us had to be checked into the hospital to get medical care for the injuries sustained during the assault.
“Naira Marley was fully present throughout this event, and in fact, coordinated some of the attacks as he instructed the boys to beat us up. Some of this was captured on video.
“It is therefore disrespectful for Naira Marley to insinuate that I started the attack because I was intoxicated as he is fully aware of the facts and circumstances surrounding this violent attack. It is not the first time Naira has lied to push his own narrative, but it will hopefully be the last.”
SaharaReporters had reported how Mohbad wrote a petition to the Nigeria Police Force reporting multiple threats to his life from controversial socialite, Samson Balogun, aka Sam Larry, amongst others.
Mohbad, on June 27, 2023, filed the petition captioned “Petition of threat to life, malicious damage of properties valued the sum of five-million-naira, assault occasioning harm, oppression and conduct likely to cause breach of peace” against Sam Larry and Oba Elegushi of Eti-Osa, Lagos State.
However, the police failed to act on the petition.