The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has scheduled July 2, 2025, as the judgment date in a contentious suit filed by Mr. Joseph Aloba, father of late Afrobeats singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad. The lawsuit challenges the legal advice issued by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which cleared music figures Naira Marley and Sam Larry of any involvement in the circumstances surrounding the singer’s death.
Presiding Judge, Justice Taiwo Olatokun, fixed the judgment date after hearing final arguments from both parties on Thursday. Representing the Aloba family is Wahab Shittu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who argued that the legal advice issued by the DPP pre-empted the ongoing coroner’s inquest and effectively denied the family a fair hearing.
Shittu contended that key suspects were prematurely released based on the advice, despite the coroner’s inquiry not yet being concluded. According to the counsel, this action undermines the process of justice and potentially obstructs the discovery of critical facts related to Mohbad’s untimely death.
However, the DPP’s legal assistant, Ayinde Ibrahim, submitted a counter-affidavit arguing that the individuals released were not acquitted but merely discharged, pending further developments. The affidavit emphasized that the DPP was acting strictly within its legal duties, having reviewed the police investigative file.
“The suspects who were released by the 2nd Respondent’s Legal Advice were not acquitted but were only discharged,” Ibrahim clarified, noting that neither the coroner nor the Aloba family had full access to the case file used in issuing the legal advice.
The DPP further maintained that its findings revealed no credible evidence implicating Naira Marley, Sam Larry, or others named in the application, such as Prima Boy and Opere Babatunde, in Mohbad’s death.
Mr. Joseph Aloba is seeking a court order to set aside the DPP’s advice and allow the coroner’s process to run its full course without interference.
The court’s ruling on July 2 is expected to set a precedent in cases where legal advice intersects with pending inquests, and could reignite public debate on how the Nigerian justice system handles high-profile deaths.
