Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, said on Wednesday that Omowunmi, wife of deceased musician, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, visited him to demand justice for her late husband.
Newsclick Nigeria reports that the late musician, who passed away on September 12, 2023, was buried a day later.
Following his death, there have been calls for investigations to unravel the circumstances behind the musician’s death.
Speaking with media in Abuja, Falana noted that he visited the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Idowu Owohunwa, adding that he (Owohunwa) had been assured that investigation had been launched.
“The young widow of Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, also known as Mohbad, visited our office yesterday (Tuesday) to seek support in pursuing justice for her late husband.
“While sympathising with her and the entire Aloba family, we assured her of our unalloyed commitment to ensure that the circumstances of the unfortunate death of the Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter were unearthed.
“Thereafter, we held a meeting with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, in respect of the investigation being conducted by the police in respect of the matter. The CP furnished me with the progress made so far in the investigation.
“We commend Nigerian youths for protesting peacefully and demanding justice. I assure them and other concerned citizens that we shall collaborate with the coroner to expose those who are remotely and directly responsible for the suspicious death of Mohbad.”
Meanwhile, the Ekiti House of Assembly has called for a thorough investigation into Mohbad’s death.
The assembly made the call on Wednesday while deliberating on a motion by the lawmaker representing Ikere Constituency I, Babatunde Oke,.
Oke, who moved the motion under matter of urgent public importance, said it was important to unravel the circumstances behind Mohbad’s death.
“There is the need for a thorough investigation on this issue. We hear different stories, we need to know what happened,” he said.
Supporting the motion, Babatunde Odowu, representing Ikere Constituency 2, described Mohbad’s death as not only untimely but a huge loss.
In his speech, the Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, said that the Assembly was hugely pained by the death of the musician.
In another development, Kabiru Shotobi, a community leader in Ikorodu area of Lagos State, where Mohbad’s remains was buried, had narrated how the father of the late artist allegedly wanted to bury him at midnight on the day of his death.
The video, which went viral on Tuesday, showed an elderly man speaking about the incident.
Shotobi, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “I did not accept for them to bury him. They wanted to bring his corpse at night. I told them they cannot bury him at night. They brought shovel to the compound already.”
Meanwhile, a former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in the 2023 election, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, on Wednesday called on the police to do justice to the memory and spirit of the late rising music star and order a thorough investigation of his death.
He also raised concern about the grip of cult leaders on some aspects of the musical and entertainment industry as well as the control of drug lords.
According to him, the police should also ensure that the culprits for the crime, if any, do not escape the law.
Olawepo-Hashim, a Global Oil Executive and former presidential candidate of the Trust Party in the 2019 election stated these in a statement he issued in Abuja.
He explained that the death of Mohbad had again “highlighted the terror that the grip of the underworld on our streets inflicts on the society.”
In Osun State, thousands of youths in Osogbo on Wednesday held candlelight procession in honour of late artiste, Aloba Ilerioluwa, popularly known as Mohbad, demanding probe into the circumstances surrounding his death.