Mohbad withdrew assault complaints against Naira Marley before death – DPP
The Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions has revealed that the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, otherwise known as Mohbad, formally withdrew the assault complaints lodged against his former label boss, Abdulazeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, at the Ilasan Police Station in the Lekki area of the state over an incident on October 8, 2022.
This formed part of the decision that led to Fashola’s acquittal on Tuesday by the Magistrates’ Court sitting in the Yaba area of the state over allegations linking him to Mohbad’s death.
The court also freed show promoter, Samson Balogun Eletu, aka Sam Larry, Mohbad’s former manager, Babatunde Opere and Ibrahim Owodunni also known as Primeboy.
Magistrate Ejiro Kubenje, who read and implemented the DPP’s legal advice, said they had no case to answer.
A document containing the legal advice signed by Babajide Martins, and obtained by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, stated that the withdrawal of the complaint by Mohbad on October 11, 2022, citing an amicable resolution, made it legally impossible to pursue further action against the defendants.
”This office is unable to act on the complaint of assault the deceased lodged against Naira Marley at the Ilasan Police Station in respect of an assault he underwent in the hand of Naira Marley on 8th October 2022 as the said complaint was by another letter dated 11th October 2022 withdrawn by the deceased on the ground that the matter had been settled amicably,” the document partly read.
The DPP further indicated that while instances of unlawful assault had occurred as carried out by the defendants, they did not meet the legal threshold for criminal conspiracy or homicide.
The court also cleared Primeboy after evaluating ‘uncontroverted’ evidence that Mohbad was the aggressor in a separate incident at a concert on September 10, 2023.
The DPP revealed that Mohbad had punched Primeboy repeatedly inside a vehicle after the latter attempted to stop him from alighting around the venue of a show where louts were demanding money.
“Because of the refusal of Owodunni Ibrahim (Aka Primeboy) to allow the deceased to alight from the vehicle, the deceased dealt several fist blows on Primeboy who did not retaliate. It was while punching Primeboy that the deceased hit the glass of the vehicle, cut himself in the arm and sustained an injury in the right arm. This injury in the coming days bled profusely, caused the deceased severe discomfort and became swollen,” the statement added.
While the court absolved the four defendants of direct responsibility, it insisted on prosecuting Feyisayo Ogedengbe, an auxiliary nurse, and the late singer’s ally, Ayobami Sadiq aka Spending, who allegedly engaged her services, describing it as reckless and negligent acts leading to Mohbad’s demise.
The DPP found that Ogedengbe administered injections and other medications to Mohbad without conducting a medical assessment or reviewing his medical history, worsening Mohbad’s condition by September 11 and 12, 2023, as his arm became increasingly swollen, causing severe pain.
“Sadiq procured the services of Ogedengbe to treat the deceased knowing full well that she is not a trained medical practitioner but merely an auxiliary nurse. Ogedengbe not being a trained nurse, also without any idea of the deceased’s medical history and without conducting any medical tests, administered medical treatment on the deceased. The deceased immediately convulsed and died. Both are caught by the provisions of Section 209’above and therefore culpable for Involuntary Manslaughter,” the document declared.
MohBad died on Tuesday, September 12, at the age of 27.
The deceased, a former member of the Marlian Music record label, had, in multiple clips, alleged to have been assaulted by gangs sent by his former boss, Naira Marley, and his associate Samson Eletu, popularly known as Sam Larry.
Reacting to all the allegations, Naira Marley said that although there were issues between them, it never degenerated to the point many allege.
