The National Medical Services Laboratories (NMS Labs) in Pennsylvania, United States, have disputed assertions made by the Lagos State Government regarding the toxicological test of late Nigerian musician Mohbad.
The denial came after inquiries by Punch Newspaper, which launched a fact-finding mission to determine the cause of the musician’s death.
According to earlier claims, NMS Labs was in charge of conducting a toxicology test to determine what causes Mohbad‘s premature death.
This assertion was made during the Coroner’s Court proceedings in Ikorodu, Lagos, where O. Akinde, the state government’s attorney, stated in November 2023 that the analysis was carried out in the US as a component of the autopsy procedure.
In a live interview in February 2024, Gbenga Omotoso, the state commissioner for information and strategy, provided additional backing for this claim.
But when NMS Labs told Punch that no such test had ever been conducted at their facility—contrary to what Lagos State officials had claimed—the matter took a different turn.
The disclosure came amidst public concern following a statement by a pathologist at the Coroner’s Court, who reported that an autopsy could not determine Mohbad’s cause of death due to the decomposed state of the body.
Omotoso said,
“The matter is being handled by the state DNA and Forensic Centre, but they are doing skeletal services, and they have affiliate centres which are three.
“So, if there is an emergency like this one that we have, they will not say they cannot handle it. So, there are three of them in the US and the one handling this particular one is the NMS in Pennsylvania, USA.”
According to reports, the test result reached Nigeria at some point in April 2024 and was given to a pathologist for analysis.
The pathologist told the coroner’s court that because Mohbad’s body had decayed, the autopsy was unable to determine the cause of his death.
However, during the fact-finding mission, Punch confirmed the site of the NMS Labs at 3701 Welsh Road in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, as well as two NMS crime labs on Stratford Avenue in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and another in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The inquiry read in part,
“I am a journalist from Punch Newspaper in Nigeria, currently working on a story involving the death of Nigerian hip-hop artiste, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.
“Following the Lagos State Government’s active interest in the case, the state Commissioner for Information revealed that the government conducted a toxicology test on the late artiste at your facility. Here is the link where he said so at 32:21 (https://youtu.be/SW59DTJZV3I?si=ty0OaXJSTvfuC4Oz).
“However, conflicting reports have emerged, casting doubt on whether or not the toxicology test indeed took place at your facility. As a journalist committed to factual reporting, I am independently reaching out to your facility to verify the authenticity of this claim. Clarification on this matter will contribute significantly to resolving the discrepancies surrounding the artist’s demise.”
The Client Services Associate, Forensics Division, NMS Labs, Esther Dede, in her response, refuted the claim by the state government that Mohbad’s toxicology test was conducted at any of their laboratories.
Dede said, “Unfortunately, we do not have a case for that patient.”
Dede, however, noted, “To maintain our compliance with HIPAA privacy regulations, we would need authorisation from the submitting agency.”
When contacted on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Information, Omotoso, said that was the name of the lab given to him by the state DNA and Forensic Centre.
He said, “This was what I was told by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre officials who took the sample there. We are dealing with the officials of the centre, they have three other labs that they have affiliations with. If they have an emergency, they can go to any of the three labs. I asked which particular one did they go to and they answered it was that one. That means I will have to go and check again because that was what I was told.”
