Embattled Nigerian musician, Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, has released a video narrating his side of the controversy surrounding the death of his former signee, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.
Mohbad died on September 12, 2023, at the age of 27, sparking nationwide outrage, street protests, and widespread accusations against Naira Marley and music promoter Samson “Sam Larry” Balogun.
Although a Magistrate’s Court in Yaba, Lagos, in February 2025 cleared both men of blame in Mohbad’s death, public suspicion has remained, especially after Mohbad, during a social media live session in 2022, declared: “If I die, everybody na Marlian Music, Naira Marley kill me.”
In the video released on Wednesday, Naira Marley claimed Mohbad had long battled substance use and mental health struggles, revealing that he first heard of the late singer using a drug called “Ice” as far back as June 2020.
“I wasn’t angry. I called him, advised him, and told him about the danger. He explained that he got into it due to stress. He even apologised and promised to stay away from it,” Naira Marley said.
The Marlian Music boss also showed WhatsApp chats suggesting that Mohbad personally chose his manager, Tunde, in July 2020, contrary to claims that the label imposed handlers on him. He further stated that he intervened to reduce the commission Mohbad wanted to pay his manager from 25% to 10%.
Naira Marley also dismissed claims that Mohbad avoided hospitals out of fear, saying he had evidence that the singer visited medical facilities in 2020.
On the controversial February 2022 NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) raid of the Marlian house, he said Mohbad suffered a panic attack after a scuffle with the officers, which made him go live on Instagram under “duress.”
“He accused me, Zino, even our wives, while in a vulnerable state of psychosis. He later apologised to me, his parents, and his girlfriend,” Naira Marley stated.
He also revealed that Mohbad once attempted suicide in March 2022 while he was abroad, and upon returning, he confronted him after discovering he had been searching online for the poisonous insecticide.
Naira Marley further accused Mohbad of financial misconduct, claiming the late singer unlawfully withdrew $72,000 from a digital streaming partner in December 2022. According to him, this led Marlian Music to withhold parts of his royalty payments until the funds were returned.
On the day Mohbad’s death was announced, Naira Marley said he was in Amsterdam, and insisted that those who were with the late singer 24–48 hours before his death should be the focus of investigations and arrest.
“I’ve never sent anybody to bully him. Sam Larry also told me he had no hand in his death, and I believe him,” Marley said.
He accused the police of wrongful detention, saying he was kept for two months at Panti, Yaba, despite voluntarily returning to Nigeria to clear his name.
Concluding his video, Marley said Marlian Music was ready to hand over Mohbad’s royalties to whomever the late singer’s family or a court of law designates.
Meanwhile, the Ikorodu Coroner’s Court had earlier recommended criminal prosecution of auxiliary nurse, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, who administered an injection to Mohbad shortly before his death.
The court described her conduct as “grossly negligent, unlawful, and unprofessional.”
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