CITIZENS COMPASS –The Oba Elegushi of Ikate-Elegushi in Lagos State, Oba Saheed Elegushi, has dragged Joseph Aloba, the father to the late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba popularly known as Mohbad, to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Ikoyi in Lagos State.
The Father was invited on Monday, June 5, 2024, over a petition submitted by the monarch.
The head of the Aloba legal team, Monisola Odumosu, in a statement on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, said the petition borders on cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and criminal defamation against the monarch.
The legal practitioner said that the allegation came on the heels of an interview granted by Aloba recently.
The statement partly reads, “Mr Aloba was invited by the police and led to the police station by the representatives of his legal team, Teri Wellington and Monisola Odumosu. The petition was written by Oba Saheed Elegushi who alleged that during one of Mr. Aloba’s interviews with a London-based blogger, he was criminally defamed.
“During the interview, Mr. Aloba granted the London-based blogger, it was alleged that he said, ‘… his son was bullied and killed on the instruction of Oba Elegushi and that it was one Sam Larry that was sent to do the job…’”
The lawyer said that defaming or performing any act that constituted or could lead to cyberbullying and cyberstalking through Oba Elegushi wasn’t his intention as he was trying to seek justice for his late son.
Odumosu added that the late singer’s father further clarified that he did not have any proof to support the allegation against the monarch except the petition written by his late son and other phone conversations he had with him.
While noting that the monarch, who was present at the meeting, demanded a retraction, Odumosu clarified that Aloba was never arrested or detained.
“In fairness to Oba Elegushi, he only demanded the retraction of the defaming statements made by Mr Aloba on social media.
“Mr. Aloba was never arrested or detained. He was granted bail without stress. It is important to note that Mr. Aloba is still grieving the death of his son. He just lost a single star in the family firmament.
Any grieving parent may on the spur of the moment make statements that may tend to be unreasonable. We only need to understand the geographical circumstances giving rise to his utterances.”
Recall that Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023.
His death sparked controversies as fans and friends took to the streets in protest.
This led the Nigeria Police Force to on September 21, 2023, exhume his body for autopsy.
Another controversy surrounding Singer’s death was that a pathologist, while testifying before the Coroner’s Court on May 15, revealed that an autopsy could not determine Mohbad’s Forensics Division, NMS Labs, Esther Dede, stated, “Unfortunately, we do not have a case for that patient.”
The Lagos State Police Command had on September 18, 2023, inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s death.
In the case of the investigation of the death, five suspects were arrested by the Police although some of them were granted bail.
Among the suspects were Naira Marley and controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, amongst others.
Mohbad was a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, though he left the label in February 2022.
