Musician Naira Marley, born Azeez Fashola, has spoken out about the death of his former signee, Mohbad.
Mohbad (Ilerioluwa Aloba) died on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at the age of 27.
In February, a Magistrate’s Court in Yaba, Lagos, found Naira Marley and music promoter Sam Larry (Samson Balogun) not responsible for Mohbad’s murder.
The court also released Primeboy (Ibrahim Owodunni) and Babatunde Opere, Mohbad’s former manager.
In July, the Ikorodu Coroner’s Court recommended criminal charges against Feyisayo Ogedengbe, the auxiliary nurse who treated Mohbad shortly before his death.
The state government established the inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the singer’s death.
Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi said the nurse acted with gross negligence by administering an injection to the singer without a doctor’s prescription.
Although the court ruled out foul play or homicide in the case, it held that the actions of the nurse were both “unlawful and professionally negligent”.
Months after being acquitted, Marley, in a video posted on the Marlian Music YouTube channel on Tuesday night, said he neither bullied nor killed the late artiste, whose death in September 2023 sparked protests across Nigeria and beyond.
He said, “I’m doing this video today for my whole Marlians around the world, the ones that stood by me when it was peak, especially the ones that are like ‘Naira Marley might have bullied him, but he didn’t kill him.’ No, I didn’t bully him, and I didn’t kill him.”
Speaking further, Marley referenced his personal journey since returning to Nigeria in 2018, his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2019, and the rapid growth of his music career.
He also narrated how his popularity made it difficult for him to live in Nigeria despite having family in the UK.
On the controversies surrounding Mohbad before his death, Marley said, “Even after the NDLEA issue, the attempted suicide, the fight with his former manager, the law suite to the distributor, the termination letter, the situation with him and Sam Larry, even after all of this, Mohbad still told people he wanted to come and apologize, but I didn’t know he was gonna die. If I knew, I would have probably let him come, but it was just too much for me at that point.”
Marley also maintained that he was out of the country when Mohbad died.
He said, “I was not in Nigeria. I went to Amsterdam. I will show you video with time and date. My main reason travelling out of Nigeria – I wanted to spend time with my kids. As you can see, I surprised them nicely.”
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