A Coroner’s Court sitting in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State has threatened to subpoena key witnesses for failing to appear at the ongoing inquest into the death of singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.
Magistrate T. A. Sotobi had ordered substituted services for the witnesses after granting an application by Mohbad’s father, Joseph Aloba, to serve witness summons on additional witnesses through a reputable national newspaper and social media.
These include Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley; Samson Eletu aka Sam Larry; Mohbad’s sister-in-law, Karimot Ogunbayo; Mohbad’s lawyer, Oluwasanmi Falade; the nurse who was said to have treated the deceased singer during the period, Feyisayo Ogedengbe; and the driver who drove him to the hospital, Fidelis Esanbor.
Speaking to our correspondent on Wednesday, the head of the Aloba family’s legal team, Taiwo Odumosu, said Mohbad’s ally, Boluwatife Adeyemo, aka Darosha, was the only key witness present at the court sitting on Wednesday.
Odumosu said the magistrate had considered issuing a subpoena on them if they did not appear at the next court sitting.
He said, “Today’s sitting was to continue with the examination of witnesses to know what happened to Mohbad and how he died. So, among all the key witnesses invited and served through substituted means, only Darosha was in court.
“Meanwhile, the magistrate said she would issue another witness summons one last chance. She said if they fail to appear on the next adjourned date, they will be subpoenaed.”
It was gathered that the hearing was adjourned till September 30.
Meanwhile, the family of the late singer has expressed disappointment and frustration with the police investigation into his death.
Odumosu, in a statement signed by Emmanuel Oroko of Hilceetee Partner, obtained by Punch Metro on Wednesday, frowned on the police’s role in the investigation.
According to him, Odumosu criticised the police for relying on witnesses’ views to reach conclusions without conducting a thorough investigation.
“On all fronts of the investigation, the police officers who investigated the murder of the late singer exhibited overt complicity in the narrative. The police relied on witnesses’ views to reach legal conclusions. They failed to tell us what investigation they carried out and what they discovered.
Secondly, when the court granted us an order to conduct an independent autopsy and toxicology test, the police refused to cooperate with us. Based on our interaction with the forensic pathologists and their requirements, we wrote the police to give access to the forensic experts to see items taken from the scene of the crime, including notes made by them.
“All these will help the forensic experts to have a better view of what happened and also form a reasonable conclusion after considering all facts and evidence before them,” he added.
Being a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022.
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 Naira Marley and Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, amongst others.
The singer’s body was exhumed on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy to unravel the cause of his death.
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