THE Magistrate Court, Yaba, Lagos State, has cleared Abdulazeez Fashola, widely known as Naira Marley, from complicity in the death of Aloba Oladimeji llerioluwa, also known as Mohbad.
The magistrate, Ejiro Kubenje, who read and executed the legal advice of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lagos State on the case on Tuesday, February 25, said Marley had no case to answer.
The magistrate also cleared a music promoter, Samson Balogun Eletu, fondly known as Sam Larry, and Owodunni Ibrahim (Primeboy) The court also freed Mohbad’s former manager, Opere Babatunde.
However, the DPP said it would prosecute the nurse who treated Mohbad, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, and his friend, Ayobami Sadiq, for reckless and negligent acts.
Both Marley and Larry were arrested and charged by the Lagos Police Command in connection with the death of singer Mohbad in 2024.
The ICIR reported that they were granted N20 million bail on November 17, 2024, and regained freedom after spending 40 days in police custody.
The late Mohbad was signed to Marlian Records between 2020 and 2022 as he started his music career.
He died on Tuesday, September 12, in controversial circumstances. He was 27.
Shortly after his passing and his burial in the Ikorodu area of the state the following day, a petition emerged online revealing that he had submitted a complaint to the police over alleged threats to his life two months before his death.
In the petition addressed to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos State, and shared by a music blogger, Ayo Jaguda, on X, Mohbad named individuals, including Sam Larry Elegushi and Elele, detailing alleged threats from them to his life and the destruction of equipment worth over N5 million he was using for a video shoot with another artiste, Zlatan Ibile.
The petition was dated June 27, 2023.
Another suspect who was freed on Tuesday, Primeboy, was declared wanted by the Lagos State Police Command in October 2023 over the singer’s death.
The declaration followed Primeboy’s failure to honour an invitation sent to him by the police since the commencement of the investigation into the circumstances leading to Mohbad’s death.
The Spokesperson of State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, October 4.
Primeboy later submitted himself to the police.
The ICIR reported that the police exhumed Mohab’s body a day after he was buried and he has since not been buried again.
A reporter with the ICIR
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