COURT TO RULE JULY 2 ON MOHBAD’S FATHER’S BID TO QUASH DPP’S ADVICE EXONERATING NAIRA MARLEY, SAM LARRY
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has fixed July 2, 2025, for judgment in an application filed by Mr. Joseph Aloba, father of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, seeking to nullify the legal advice issued by the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) which cleared singer Naira Marley and show promoter Sam Larry of any involvement in his son’s death.
Justice Taiwo Olatokun set the date following arguments presented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Wahab Shittu, representing the applicant, and Ms. Joke Amachree, who appeared for the respondents.
Mr. Aloba, acting on behalf of the Aloba family, had sued the Attorney General of Lagos State and the Director of Public Prosecution as respondents. He is asking the court to quash the DPP’s legal advice, claiming it was prematurely issued and compromised the integrity of the ongoing Coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death.
Shittu argued that the legal advice issued before the conclusion of the Coroner’s inquiry violated the applicant’s right to fair hearing and effectively exonerated individuals named in the inquest without due process.
However, in a counter-affidavit filed on June 24, a legal assistant in the DPP’s office, Ayinde Ibrahim, stated that the suspects were not acquitted but merely discharged due to a lack of evidence linking them to the death. Ibrahim explained that the decision was based on a comprehensive review of the duplicate case file submitted by police investigators.
He emphasized that neither the Coroner nor the applicant had access to the confidential police case file used by the DPP in reaching its conclusions. He further noted that the Presiding Coroner had not delivered any verdict implicating the suspects and that the Coroner’s inquest operates independently of the DPP’s statutory duties.
“The suspects released by the 2nd Respondent’s legal advice were not acquitted but discharged due to the absence of any credible evidence linking them to the deceased,” the filing read. “No fact disclosed in the case file suggested a direct or remote link between Naira Marley, Sam Larry, Primeboy, or Opere Babatunde and the death of Mohbad.”
The DPP maintained that the issuance of the legal advice was lawful and independent, and denied claims that it preempted the Coroner’s proceedings. It also refuted allegations that any directive was given to halt or delay the legal review pending the outcome of the inquest.
The respondents described the application as speculative and lacking in factual basis, urging the court to dismiss it in the interest of justice. They asserted that the applicant failed to conduct or commission any independent investigation that would have uncovered new evidence against the discharged suspects.
With the ruling now scheduled for July 2, all eyes will be on the court as it decides whether the legal advice that cleared the high-profile suspects in Mohbad’s controversial death should stand or be set aside to allow further scrutiny.
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