By Uche Amunike
The pathologist in charge of the autopsy of late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, has confirmed that the cause of his death cannot be determined because by the time the test was conducted, the late singer’s body had decomposed.
This was disclosed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Wahab Shittu, while addressing newsmen at the coroners inquest which was held in Lagos State on Wednesday.
According to Shittu, the report given by the pathologist simply implies that the result is not clear and suspicious.
His words: ‘According to him (pathologist), the cause of death cannot be determined because by the time they conducted the test, the body had decomposed and that it is not possible for them to determine the cause of death. So, in summary, he is saying the cause of death cannot be ascertained. And when you say the cause of death cannot be ascertained, it means it is suspicious, it is not clear. No particular reason.’
Shittu also stated that according to the pathologist, the late Mohbad might have died as a result of a reaction to certain drugs that were administered to him before he died.
Hear him: ‘He went further to say that he does not know whether it is those drugs that led to the death.’
The senior advocate urged the public to avoid reacting swiftly to the development, adding that the pathologist who gave the report was an expert in the field of pathology. He further stated that he was yet to see the full report, adding that the coroner advised that an application should be made to access the document
According to him, a date had been fixed for cross examining the pathologist on the outcome of the autopsy report.
His words: ‘Don’t react until you have seen the full report. As I speak to you, I have not seen the full report. The court has advised that we should apply for the full report. If somebody says this is the final verdict. He must have reasons why he said so. So, look at not only the final verdict but look, also, at the reasons he gave before arriving at the final verdict.’
‘What is important is that this pathologist has given his evidence today and we have taken a day to cross-examine and ask him questions on the report. Until those questions are asked, we cannot say this is the outcome.’
Recall that Mohbad died on September 12, 2023, at the age of 27 with the circumstances surrounding his death causing controversy on social media. He was a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley. On September 18 2023, the Lagos State police command inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe his death.
Certain arrests were made while investigations commenced. This included that of Naira Marley, as well as the controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu , also known as Sam Larry.
On September 21, 2023, Mohbad’s corpse was exhumed for autopsy, to ascertain the cause of his death. Shortly after, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hyundeyi tweeted that an autopsy had been concluded and the police were ‘awaiting results’.
The result was eventually sent to the pathologist, who carried out the autopsy for analysis and interpretation.
