The Lagos State government yesterday told the coroner investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Afrobeat singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, that the toxicology test of his body was being conducted in the United States of America.
This was disclosed to Magistrate Adetayo Shotobi by a Lagos State counsel, O. Akinde, after lawyers to other parties in the inquest demanded to know why the autopsy report was not ready.
In response, Akinde said the most crucial aspect of the autopsy to determine the cause of death of the late music star was being carried out by experts in the US.
He said, “The toxicology test, which has to do with the internal body, is being done in the US”.
The development made the coroner ask why the toxicology was taken abroad when there are toxicology laboratories in Nigeria.
Akinde told the coroner that Lagos State decided to do it in the US because of the nature of various substances alleged to have either been injected or taken by the deceased and the need to prevent controversy over the autopsy report when it is finally presented.
He said it was also because the death of the deceased had become a worldwide issue.
He said there was no point in inviting Prof. Soyemi, the pathologist in Lagos, to present an uncompleted report.
Earlier, when led by the counsel to the family of the deceased, Taiwo Olawanle from the Falana and Falana Chambers, Adura Alogba told the coroner that he adopted all he stated in a deposition as evidence in the matter.
In his deposition, admitted as evidence by the coroner’s court, the deceased’s younger brother, Adura Aloba, said on 25 June 2023, they went for a show at Elegushi Beach and Sammy Larry and his gang came to the place and beat up the deceased.
Adura alleged that Sammy Larry threatened at the place that anywhere he saw the deceased, he would kill him and his friends one after the other.
“On the 10th of September, 2023, the deceased went for a show at Ikorodu. Before the show started, he had been having issues with Prime Boy from home, and after the show, they began the topic. He resorted to a fight, and the deceased hit his hand against the car glass.
“We got home that day, and the deceased started complaining that he needed a nurse to treat his hand. We could not see a nurse that very day. One Ayobami Sodiq gave us the number of a nurse who administered an injection to the deceased.
“After the injection, the deceased started vomiting all the food he ate. We rushed him to two hospitals. The first one was Curamed Hospital which confirmed that the deceased had died, and the second was Preze Hospital at Lekki, which also confirmed he was. dead”.
Under crossed examination by the state counsel, Akinde, Adura said the deceased showed no sign nor complaint of illness before and after his performance at Ikorodu.
He also said he did not witness the fight between the deceased and Prime Boy as he was in the second Prado Jeep.
He said on getting home, they did not apply anything to the injury sustained by Mohbad during his fight with Prime Boy, adding that they wiped the blood on the wound in his elbow.
Adura said the nurse who injected the deceased was invited two days after the Ikorodu incident, adding that it was Ajisegiri (Bami) who brought the nurse.
He said Mohbad was still breathing when they left their house but that before they got to the first hospital, he was already dead.
Under cross-examination by Fadimu, the witness said it was Mohbad who requested the service of a nurse because of the injury he sustained during his fight with Prime Boy.
He insisted that the injury on the deceased elbow was not deep and that he had no damage to his tummy.
Contrary to claims of the father of the deceased, the witness told the court he was not aware of any cloth soaked with blood, insisting that it was only the bed sheet that had spots of blood stains from the injury on Mohbad’s elbow.
Cross-examined by Aranmolaran, Adura said there was no fight between Mohbad and his wife on the eve of his death, adding that he was still okay as of Tuesday, 12 September, in the morning.
He confirmed cooking the Indomie that the deceased ate before he died and that the packs were taken from the stock in the house, adding that he and Wunmi also ate the Indomie.
Though close to his late brother, he said the deceased does not discuss all issues with him.
While admitting that the father of the deceased sometimes intervened in matters between Mohbad and his wife, he insisted that his late brother and wife were very close.
Counsels at the hearing agreed and requested the Coroner to summon Sultan and the driver that drove Mohbad to Ikorodu on 10 November.
Prime Boy is to re-appear before the court on 6 December as his name featured prominently in testimonies before the court.
