The mystery surrounding the untimely death of Nigerian singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, has taken a new turn as his family has initiated a fresh autopsy to uncover the true cause of his demise.
Following an order from T.A. Shotobi, Magistrate of the Coroner Court in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Mohbad’s father, Mr. Joseph Aloba, was granted permission to hire a licensed pathologist to perform an independent autopsy. This decision, made on June 26, aims to bring clarity and answers to the grieving family.
The court specified that Mr. Aloba must bear all costs related to this new autopsy, which commenced on Friday, July 19, and continued into Saturday, July 20. Monisola Odumosu, a member of the family’s legal team, confirmed the completion of the initial examination in a statement released on Tuesday.
“The second autopsy as requested by the Aloba family and ordered by the Magistrate of the Coroner Court, Ms. T.A. Shotobi, was conducted on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20, 2024. This autopsy is a two-part exercise, with the first part now completed. If the cause of death cannot be determined from this initial examination, the second part will proceed, involving a toxicology and histology test on the necessary samples already obtained,” the statement read in part.
This thorough procedure was overseen by Mohbad’s father and two pathologists, one appointed by Mr. Aloba and the other by Mohbad’s wife, Wunmi.
Mohbad, who was 27 years old at the time of his death on September 12, 2023, left behind a wave of speculation and controversy. The former signee of Marlian Music, owned by Naira Marley, had departed the label in February 2022. In response to public outcry, the Lagos State Police Command formed a 13-man special investigation team on September 18, 2023, to probe the circumstances of his death.
This fresh autopsy follows a previous attempt on September 21, 2023, when Mohbad’s body was exhumed for examination. However, during a Coroner’s Court session on May 15, a pathologist testified that the body’s decomposition prevented a conclusive determination of the cause of death. Contradicting this, a US-based lab reportedly denied conducting the toxicology test as claimed by the Lagos State Government, adding another layer to the ongoing investigation.
