UPDATES
Azeez Adeshina Fashola popularly known as Naira Marley, had over 7.5 million followers before the sudden death of his former associate, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad. This is the number of followers he has today – he lost over half a million followers amid unconfirmed reports that he was involved in Mohbad’s death.
Mohbad has been buried and many thought the matter would just go away, but it is far from over as anger, suspicion, online campaigns and calls for justice intensify. Security officials in Nigeria have now said they will do all it takes to shed light on the case.
Mass protests are being held across the country with candlelight vigils in honor of Mohbad. Naira Marley has said his hands are clean, and also called for justice for Mohbad. But Nigerians are not having it.
Naira Marley loses nearly 800K followers in less than one week
Nigerian singer, Afeez Fashola, popularly called Naira Marley, has been under fire since his former associate and fast-rising singer, Mohbad, died mysteriously on Tuesday.
Illerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, was a young promising musician and former signee of Naira Marley’s Marlian Records. He mysteriously died on Tuesday, September 12, at the age of 27 and was buried on Wednesday at his native Okorodu, in Lagos.
The indigenous singer’s death sparked outrage among millions of Nigerians, who are now venting their frustrations on his former boss, Naira Marley, and a music promoter, Samson Balogon, popularly called Sam Larry.
Mohbad’s relationship with Naira Marley dates as far back as 2019 when he joined Marlian Records. He rose to fame after releasing his debut album, Light, in the fourth quarter of 2020 as a follow-up to his viral song “Ponmo,” which featured Naira Marley and Lil Kesh.
Two years after gaining ground with Afrobeat, Mohbab decided to leave Marlian Records after claiming he was assaulted by members of the label and close aids of Naira Marley.
He had serious disagreements with Naira Marley before they parted ways.
Contradictory Reports
Diverse stories have flooded social media and network sites since Mohbad died last Tuesday. Some reports have alleged he was killed by Sam Larry and Naira Marley; others say he died from natural causes; and some claim he was poisoned by the Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. In fact, Mohbad made shocking revelations in one of his videos in the hospital, which have been interpreted as follows: “He said he was given a substance to drink at the NDLEA office and he was the only one that was asked to drink it despite arresting plenty of them in Marlian records, he also said he was trying to save Zinolesky from police harassment and they hit him with a gun on the head.”
The most outstanding narrative is that the late singer was killed by Naira Marley and popular show promoter, Sam Larry, who has gone into hiding.
Mohbad’s supporters alleged that he had been facing death threats from the accused parties just before he died.
In a petition, they asserted that “his fundamental rights as a human were trampled upon just before his demise,” adding that, “the perpetrators of the acts include Sam Larry and Naira Marley.”
Reports say Mohbad had filed a petition with the Nigerian Police Force against Sam Larry and 15 others, a few months before his death, over alleged threats to his life, malicious damage to property, and oppression, among other accusations.
In the petition, Mohbad claimed the show promoter, Sam Larry, and others who were all armed stormed the venue of a video shoot where he and Zlatan Ibile were working and assaulted them.
He added that they eventually destroyed equipment worth over N5 million at the scene and assaulted him (Mohbad) before he narrowly escaped after sustaining injuries. The video below shows how Sam Larry (holding a long object) stormed Mohbad’s video production film scene a few weeks back.
A video that appeared on Instagram purportedly depicts Sam Larry assaulting Mohbad, who is bleeding and injured.
On Friday, Sam Larry, who has reportedly “escaped” to Kenya, released a video in his native Yoruba language in which he said he “can’t kill Mohbad”.
Aside from the accusations levied against Sam Larry and Naira Marley, other Nigerians speculated that Mohbad was poisoned in custody.
The spokesman for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Femi Babafemi, also refuted all the claims in a post on Saturday.
He argued that the deceased was not among the members of Marlian Music whom the agency arrested in 2022, as speculated by many.
Mounting Anger And Frustration
The Internet has been buzzing with expressions of anger and frustration from Mohbad’s fans. They have been furiously asking for justice for the late singer.
A petition was also launched online, demanding that Naira Marley’s music and record label be banned. By this Sunday afternoon, over 248,700 people had signed the petition launched on change.org.
In the petition spearheaded by a popular Nigerian whistle-blower and blogger, Gist Lover, it was clearly spelled out that “The citizens and fans both in Nigeria and in diaspora demand for Justice to be met!.. Investigations should be carried out thoroughly on the Marlian Music Brand, not leaving behind all evidence being provided to the public.”
They want Marley banned for assaulting Mohbad while he was alive. Naira Marley’s popularity has also been at an all-time low for the past week, and he has lost millions of followers across his social media handles.
He is reported to have lost more than 200,000 followers on Instagram since Tuesday, and Mohbad’s fans have been storming Naira Marley’s pages, accusing him of participating in the singer’s death. Marley’s X account, which had more than 7 Million followers, counted just 4.9 million followers on Sunday evening.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Mohbad’s family said the late singer had been in court trying to retrieve some of his songs and unpaid royalties that Marlian Music was “wrongfully” withholding.
Many who commented on a video Naira Marley posted on Instagram two days after Mohbad’s death called on other netizens to join them in reporting Naira Marley’s social media pages.
“I have unfollowed him. If you have done that too, other people can see,” commented iam_francis_1.
Another Instagram user commented under the video, “Let’s report this account. My hatred for him just keeps growing. I’m disappointed in you, Naira Marley.”
“He didn’t die of natural causes.”
The mother of the late Mohbad on Sunday, September 17, broke the silence over the controversies surrounding her son’s tragic death.
In a video that went viral on social media, she refuted claims that her son died of natural causes and faulted Naira Marley for Mohbad’s demise, the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard reported on its website.
“My son lived in perpetual fear till the day he died. His troubles began when he joined Marlian Music. He ceased to be at peace since that day.
“I was called on multiple occasions and told how my son was battered and assaulted by Naira Marley and his people.
“MohBad boycotted several shows because of information that Naira Marley and his boys could be at the same show.
“MohBad was not mentally ill. I have remained quiet because I wasn’t permitted to speak until now. He was married with a son. How do people tag such a person as mad?
“I was home when I got a call on Monday that my son had passed. I was just with him days earlier, this is painful.
“All the people spreading rumors about him, fear God.
“Whoever has a hand in his death will surely face the wrath of God.”
Mrs. Aloba continued, saying she knew her son had bitten off more than he could chew when he told her about his contract with Naira Marley.
“I knew trouble was looming when he told me about Naira Marley.
“I am calling on Nigerians to help me get justice for my son,” she pleaded, crying.
Naira Marley and his friend and associate, Sam Larry
Naira Marley Reacts
Naira Marley and other members of Marlian Music have also taken to social media lately to condole with the family of Mohbad and call for investigations into his death.
In a press release posted on his seven-million-follower Instagram page, Naira Marley said Mohbad’s death left Marlian Music “heartbroken” and had left a “permanent hole” in their hearts.
“Mohbad is an incredible street pop star who contributed to the foundation of Marlian Music,” the release signed by Naira Marley said.
“Despite his departure, we continually championed his talent. No family is perfect, families have disagreements, but no harm whatsoever was wished on Mohbad.”
It also called for a thorough investigation into Mohbad’s death and urged the public to refrain from spreading unclear information that could influence the investigation.
Before the press release, Naira Marley posted a video on Instagram showing himself, Mohbad, and others vibing to a song when they were still together. Before then, Naira Marley had posted a video of himself dancing on Snapchat. The dance video, which was posted a few hours after Mohbad’s death, enraged many social media users who accused the singer of celebrating Mohbad’s death.
Naira Marley extended the video to his X handle, saying he was shattered by Mohbad’s death. He also questioned what Mohbab was suffering from before he died and why he was buried in such a hurry.
Amid the controversies, Mohbad’s father, Joseph Aloba, said Naira Marley shouldn’t be blamed for his son’s death.
In an interview with Sight Nigeria, Mr. Aloba said Naira Marley may be innocent. He rather blamed an unqualified nurse for giving an injection to his son before he died.
“I hear a lot of things happened to him, but we cannot say it was Naira Marley that killed him; he was attacked when he was doing this new album with Zlatan, but we cannot say it was Naira Marley because the people that attacked him are not Naira Marley,” Mr. Aloba is quoted as having said.
Mounting Calls For Justice
Several Nigerian celebrities and fans of the late singer have been championing calls for justice to be done. Celebrities like Iyanya, OAP Dotun, Olamide, and Blaqbonez are among those who have reacted to the issue since Tuesday. Many are calling for investigations into the controversies and for justice to be done.
Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has for the past three days been asking the Nigerian Government to wake up to Mohbab’s death and, for once, serve justice.
“It is so heartbreaking to see what Mohbad went through right before our eyes, and we were made to believe this young soul was a drug addict by Naira Marley,” she said in one of her posts on Instagram.
Thousands of the late singer’s fans said they were heartbroken by his tragic exit. On social media, their grief has been evident.
“Gone so soon, bro. I can’t believe this. Mohbad was such a young talent, and the world wasn’t even ready for him,” wrote Same James on his X handle.
“All I am asking is justice. Mohbab did not deserve what happened to him. He was a good person and a very talented artist. May his soul Rest In Peace,” Chioma Glory said on Instagram.
Another Instagram user, Shegun Joshua, said: “I have all Mohbab’s songs on my playlist. He was so talented and had such a beautiful career ahead of him. It is rather unfortunate what happened to him.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Police Force announced that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police has been charged with conducting a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
A Nigerian news website, thisdaylive.com, reported on Saturday that the police had asked people with valuable information on the case to approach the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to help with the investigation process.
Mohbad left behind a wife (Wunmi), a five-month-old son, and a large family to mourn him.
Updates
The Lagos State Police Command has tasked a 13-man special investigation team to probe the mysterious death of Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.
“Do not forget, we have unique access to INTERPOL. Everybody linked to it (the death of Mohbad) will be identified and they will be brought to establish their level of involvement,” Lagos State Commissioner, Idowu Owohunwa said on Monday.
While the different police handles on social media are being tagged daily, one of them responded and told users that “Twitter is not the police station.”
Many have been asking why it took so much time for an investigation to be opened despite the dozens of ‘incriminating videos and pictures circulation on social media.
Written by Tata Mbunwe and Washira Helene
