A Lagos high court has fixed July 2 to deliver its judgment on the lawsuit filed by Joseph Aloba, father of the late singer Mohbad, seeking to overturn the director of public prosecutions (DPP)’s legal advice that cleared key suspects in his son’s death.
In February, a Yaba magistrate court, acting on the DPP’s advice, cleared Naira Marley, Sam Larry, Prime Boy, and Pere Babatunde, ruling they had “no case to answer” in connection with Mohbad’s death.
Aloba, however, filed a lawsuit in March, challenging the exoneration of the suspects while the coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death was still ongoing.
At the latest hearing, Taiwo Olatokun, the presiding judge, set the judgment date after listening to arguments from Wahab Shittu, Aloba’s counsel, and Joke Amachree, who represented the respondents.
Shittu argued that the DPP’s legal advice prematurely cleared the suspects before the coroner’s inquest concluded.
Amachree, representing the Lagos state attorney general and DPP, however, countered that the suspects were only discharged, not acquitted, meaning investigations could still reopen if new evidence emerges.
“The respondents admit paragraphs 8 of the affidavit-in-support of the motion, only to the extent that its officers participated at the hearing of the inquest into the death of the late Oladimeji Aloba,” they wrote in their counter affidavit filed on June 24 by Ayinde Ibrahim, a legal assistant in the office of the DPP.
“And also to the extent that upon conclusion of investigation by the police investigators into the death of the deceased, the investigators forwarded a duplicate case file to the office of the 2nd respondent (DPP) for the purpose of review and issuance of a legal advice
“Contrary to the deposition in paragraph 4 and generally in the applicant’s affidavits, the suspects who were released by the 2nd respondent’s legal advice, were not acquitted but were only discharged.
“The respondents denies the deposition in paragraph 7 of the applicant’s affidavit in support, as the presiding coroner is yet to pronounce a verdict which implicates the released suspects.
“Contrary to the deposition in paragraph 8 of the applicant’s affidavit, the said Oluwaseun Akinde Esq. from his experience as counsel knows as a fact that the police is bound to send the duplicate case file to the respondents in any case file in which a prima facie case of an offense triable by information is disclosed, such as the one under reference is disclosed.
“Further to the above, the respondent states that at no time did the presiding coroner into the death of the deceased issue any directive that mandated the respondents to inform it of the conclusion of the 2nd respondent’s review of the duplicate case file which is the conclusion captured in the legal advice sought to be quashed by the applicant.”
They also asked the court to dismiss Aloba’s application in the interest of justice.
Mohbad died under mysterious circumstances on September 12, 2023, sparking nationwide outcry.
In October 2023, Marley and Larry were arrested over allegations that they were involved in the death of Mohbad.
They were released on bail in November of the same year after spending over five weeks in detention.