Lagos High Court in Ikeja has granted Joseph Aloba, the father of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, permission to challenge the legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that cleared Abdulazeez Fashola (also known as Naira Marley) and three others regarding allegations related to his son’s death.
Justice Taiwo Olatokun also granted Aloba permission to serve the motion on notice for judicial review to the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN).
Aloba is seeking a court order for a judicial review to quash the DPP’s legal advice and the ruling of Magistrate Ejiro Kubenje, which discharged and acquitted four suspects: Abdulazeez Fashola (alias Naira Marley), Samason Balogun Eletu (aka Sam Larry), Owoduni Ibrahim (aka Prime Boy), and Pere Babatunde.
Justice Olatokun granted the motion ex parte for the review after considering the arguments presented by Mohbad’s father’s counsel, Wahab Shittu (SAN).
The judge has adjourned the case to June 17 for further hearing.
The applicant, suing for himself and on behalf of the Aloba family, joined the Lagos State Attorney General, Lawal Pedro (SAN), and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins, as respondents in the suit marked ID/6197MJR/2025.
Aloba based his suit on three main grounds, including a claim that he was denied a fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
He also argued that the DPP’s legal advice pre-empts the ongoing Coroner’s inquest proceedings and that key suspects mentioned in those proceedings have allegedly been freed due to the DPP’s recommendations.
In an 18-paragraph affidavit attached to the suit, the applicant averred that the death of his son on September 11, 2023, was both unnatural and suspicious.
He stated that this prompted him to petition for an inquest into the circumstances surrounding Mohbad’s death and that the inquest was referred to the coroner’s court under suit No: COR/IKD/10/2023, where proceedings commenced on September 29, 2023, and have not yet been concluded.
Aloba alleged that, while the coroner’s proceedings are still ongoing, on February 26, 2025, Magistrate Ejiro Kubenhe of the Yaba Magistrate Court discharged and acquitted the four suspects based on an undated legal advice from the respondents.
He further maintained that these suspects, who have been discharged and acquitted, were involved in the coroner’s proceedings and have been summoned but have yet to appear to provide evidence regarding their roles in the death of the deceased.
The applicant claimed that the police, through ASP Mohammed Yusuf from the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the respondents, represented by their senior counsel, George, participated in the coroner’s proceedings.
He stated that the police submitted their investigation findings to the respondents without informing the coroner’s court. Despite the coroner’s ongoing inquest, the respondents issued legal advice that led to the release of the prime suspects.
Aloba contends that the respondents’ actions undermine the coroner’s authority, thereby obstructing justice in the investigation.
