The late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad, was well known for his talent, and the future seemed to have so much in stock for him. That explains why his friends, family and fans have been left devastated since the news of his death broke on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. He was 27 years old.
When Saturday Beats paid a visit to the singer’s burial site and family home in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, it was evident that both areas had been thrown into a deep state of mourning. Gberigbe, where the late singer was interred, was a bumpy one-hour ride from the Ikorodu garage. Some parts of the roads were waterlogged, and dotted with gaping portholes.
Our correspondent gathered that the land on which the singer was buried was one of his properties.
A man our correspondent encountered at the burial site insisted that he must be given some money before he would divulge any information about the late singer. He said, “He (Mohbad) is from Oke Eletu (also in Ikorodu). He bought this place. If you want to know his family, give me money. They are here now, that is his father standing over there (pointing to a man a few metres away). There are also some of his people around here.”
When our correspondent approached Mohbad’s father, Joseph Aloba, who was looking visibly shaken, he simply said, “I am busy.”
He was supervising some cleaning work done on the site.
A woman dressed in an ash-coloured gown also refused to speak to Saturday Beats. She said, “We are not saying anything to anybody regarding Mohbad. Everything is already out there, and everybody knows what is going on. It is so saddening.”
Meanwhile, an artiste living in the area, simply identified as Elijah, aka Sweetsounds, stated that he had produced a farewell song to honour the late Mohbad.
Upon leaving the burial site, our correspondent embarked on another 30-minute ride back to the late singer’s family house in Oke Eletu.
Even without being told, the sober mood and sad faces worn by the residents in the area indicated that they were in a mourning state.
The Aloba’s home, a yellow bungalow tucked behind some other buildings, could easily be missed, but the presence of some women looking sad, gave the place away. Though physically present, most of the mourners were absent-minded and practically oblivious of what was happening around them. When our correspondent tried to interact with them, they remained silent.
However, some neighbours who spoke on the condition of anonymity noted that the late singer cared for his family, and would be missed.
One of them, a woman, said, “We will miss a lot about him. He was a good and calm boy, who cared for his home. Since his death, the whole area has not been okay. People from Gberigbe and Ijede came here in their numbers for his burial yesterday (Wednesday). His death was so painful, and we are terribly hurt.”
Another neighbour added, “He worked very hard while he was here. He was even into ‘furniture business’ at some point. He was a good person and a child of grace. In July, the last time he was in the area, he shared gifts to people. He walked from the beginning of the street to this place (towards the end of the street) to share the gift items. He was a very humble and hardworking guy.”
The troubled artiste
Though it was stated that the singer died after battling an ear infection, it was also common knowledge that the singer had fallen out with his former record label, Marlian Music, and was regularly hounded by people sponsored by the label.
Since he left the label in 2022, there had been several reports of him being assaulted at shows, music video shoots and other places. This was amidst concerns about his mental health, as another singer, Bella Shmurda, had revealed that Mohbad once attempted suicide.
In a post on social media in 2022, Mohbad had alleged that he was assaulted by the label’s executives after he demanded a change of manager. Sharing a video of himself on his Twitter handle back then, Mohbad claimed that he was assaulted at ‘Marlian House’. In the seven-second video clip, the singer could be seen with bruises on his back, neck, and hands.
In a series of videos that went viral on the internet, Mohbad was seen being assaulted by some people allegedly led by a controversial socialite, Sam Larry, during a video shoot, and on some other occasions.
Meanwhile, the late Mohbad had also written a petition to the police, alleging threats to his life by Sam Larry and others.
The petition alleged that Sam Larry and 15 others stormed the location of the video shoot with some armed men, and wreaked havoc on the place, destroying equipment worth over N5m, and assaulting Aloba, who ‘narrowly escaped with injuries’.
Though it was alleged that Larry worked for a Lagos monarch, Elegushi of Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, Oba Saheed Elegushi, the royal family disassociated themselves from him. The statement read in part, “Samson Balogun (Sam Larry) is not a member of the royal family and does not work for the royal family or king in any capacity. Like other celebrities, politicians, religious and community leaders, he visits the palace to pay homage to the king and seek royal blessings, just like other members of the public.”
On his part, Larry, who had initially remained silent, later made a video on Friday, September 15, debunking claims that he had anything to do with Mohbad’s death. He said, “I loved Mohbad and everyone knows that, including his wife. Even if we were fighting, I could not have killed Mohbad. I loved him so much, and God sees my heart. I don’t know anything about his death. The videos going viral were recorded long ago.”
Meanwhile, Mohbad had a performance in Ikorodu on Sunday, which turned out to be his last outing. He also allegedly got into a fight with a friend and artist, Primeboy, whom he had attended the concert with. This led to insinuations that the singer’s death could be linked to the alleged fight.
However, in an Instagram post, Primeboy refuted the allegations. He said, “I keep seeing lots of rumours that things happened on Sunday that could have led to Mohbad’s death. Nothing happened on Sunday. He called me on Saturday to accompany him to the venue for his performance. I gained a lot from Mohbad, and people are saying I killed my friend; why would I do that? I did not even fight with Mohbad. He was my best friend.”
Premonitions
The late singer’s father, and his friend alleged that shortly before his death, they had disturbing dreams about him.
In an interview with a comedian, OG Baba, the elder Aloba said, “Mohbad and I were very close, and I saw him as my friend. The last time I saw him was on Saturday. We dined and had a nice time together. But, I had a dream about him just two days before the incident. In the dream, I saw someone holding a gun to shoot. I thought I escaped the bullet and did not think that such an unfortunate thing would later happen to me.”
This was even as he stated that he did not suspect anyone had a hand in his son’s death.
A friend of the late singer, Olusegun Olugbuyi, similarly claimed to have had a dream where the late singer was attacked. He told our correspondent, “I spoke to him just a day before his death. I had a dream where he was attacked and killed by cultists, and I told him about it. I did not force him to make a decision, but I urged him to pray about it. I did not know if he did anything about it.”
Battle with depression
Omowunmi, the late singer’s wife took to her Instagram page to bemoan the loss of her partner. She said, “He struggled till death; too many pains, threatening (sic). He always lived in fear; and continuously fought everywhere he went to. He was never happy for a whole day. He was called a junkie and mad person so that the public would have another view of him. He is dead now, so you have won; take your trophy.”
She added that the singer’s worries doubled after the birth of their five-month-old son, Liam.
However, in a leaked conversation between the late artiste and Omowunmi, he expressed unhappiness that she was often at loggerheads with his mother.
It was also stated that the late singer often forgot little details, such as his phone password, song lyrics, and account number.
Police vows to investigate, exhume corpse if necessary
However, the public relations officer of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated that the singer’s death would be investigated. In a statement titled, ‘Mohbad’s Death: We will carry out diligent investigation – FPRO’, Adejobi stated that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (Idowu Owohunwa) had been tasked to unravel the circumstances surrounding the ‘KPK’ singer’s death. It read in part, “The Nigeria Police Force is committed to a comprehensive investigation into this matter, as the Lagos State Commissioner of Police has been tasked to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death. Rest assured, updates will be provided as investigations unfold.”
The Lagos Annex of the Force Criminal Investigation Department also stated that it had invited Sam Larry and others, following the receipt of Mohbad’s petition.
They added that a lawyer to Sam Larry and the other suspects eventually wrote a counter-petition against Mohbad, alleging defamation of character, after the singer failed to show up to defend his case.
On his part, the Lagos State command’s PRO, Benjamin Hundeyin, said that investigations would commence promptly, and the late singer’s corpse would be exhumed if necessary. He said, “If need be, the body will be exhumed. It is not too late. The body can be exhumed, and an autopsy can be performed.”
He also urged citizens to bring whatever information they had to the Commissioner of Police.
Tributes galore
Since Mohbad’s death, he has been mourned by other celebrities, including Davido, who was said to have sent N2m for the late singer’s burial. Davido also paid tribute to him during a performance at Machester, United Kingdom.
Other celebs who have paid tributes to him include Iyabo Ojo, Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori (KieKie), Falz, Zinoleesky, Bella Shrmuda, and Abdulgafar Oluwatoyin (Cute Abiola).
Meanwhile, a lady, who claimed to be the singer’s sister-in-law, alleged that his family was already in dispute over the properties he left behind.
Meanwhile, all efforts by our correspondent to reach Naira Marley’s management team were futile. One of the contacts claimed that she no longer worked with the label, and when asked about who currently worked with the label, she claimed not to be privy to that information.
