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Court to Deliver Verdict July 2 in Mohbad Case Filed by Late Singer’s Father
The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has fixed July 2, 2025, to deliver judgment in a lawsuit filed by Mr. Joseph Aloba, father of the late Nigerian artist Ilerioluwa Aloba, widely known as Mohbad.
The case challenges the legal advice issued by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which cleared music figures Naira Marley and Sam Larry of any criminal responsibility in the singer’s controversial death.
Presiding judge Justice Taiwo Olatokun set the ruling date after listening to submissions from legal teams representing both Mr. Aloba and the state government.
The suit, filed by Wahab Shittu (SAN) on behalf of the Aloba family, names the Lagos State Attorney General and the DPP as respondents.
Shittu argued that the DPP’s legal advice, which cleared several suspects and influenced their release, undermined the integrity of the ongoing coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death and violated the family’s right to a fair hearing. He claimed the advice effectively prejudged the inquest before it reached its conclusion.
However, in a counter-affidavit filed by Ayinde Ibrahim, a legal officer from the DPP’s office, the state countered that those released based on the legal advice were not acquitted but merely discharged. The DPP also stressed it had reviewed the police case file and acted within its statutory authority.
“A thorough legal review revealed no facts connecting [Naira Marley, Sam Larry, or others] directly or indirectly to the death,” the affidavit stated.
The respondents further argued that neither Mr. Aloba nor the coroner had access to the complete investigative file at the time the advice was issued. They also emphasised that the claimant failed to present any new or independent evidence that would warrant a reversal of the DPP’s decision.
The forthcoming ruling will determine whether the DPP’s legal advice stands, and whether it affects the wider legal landscape surrounding the tragic death of Mohbad, whose passing in September 2023 sparked nationwide outrage and demands for justice.
All eyes now turn to July 2, when the court is expected to make a definitive ruling on this critical legal dispute.
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