Court dismisses Mohbad’s father’s suit challenging legal advice on Naira Marley, others

The Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has dismissed an application filed by Mr. Joseph Aloba, father of the late singer Mohbad, seeking to overturn the legal advice issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which led to the release of Naira Marley, Sam Larry, and others initially accused of involvement in the artiste’s death.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Taiwo Olatokun held that the Attorney General’s decision, through the DPP, on whether to prosecute or not, was within the lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion and could not be challenged in court.

As such, the court ruled that the reliefs sought by Mr. Aloba could not be granted.

Mr. Aloba, who was present in court alongside supporters of the late Mohbad, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling. His counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Wahab Shittu, stated that they would challenge the decision on appeal.

The suit, filed on behalf of the Aloba family, named the Attorney General of Lagos State and the DPP as respondents. Mr. Aloba argued that the DPP’s legal advice prematurely absolved key suspects before the Coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death had concluded, thereby denying the family fair hearing.

In a counter-affidavit filed on June 24, Ayinde Ibrahim, a legal assistant in the DPP’s office, clarified that those released were not acquitted but merely discharged based on the lack of evidence linking them—either directly or indirectly—to Mohbad’s death.

The DPP’s office also emphasized that the legal advice was informed by a thorough review of the criminal case file, to which neither the Coroner nor the applicant had access, and found no substantial basis to prosecute Naira Marley, Sam Larry, Prime Boy, or Opere Babatunde.