The inquest set up by the Lagos State Government to unravel the controversial death of musician, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly called Mohbad, ended on Friday, with a call for the prosecution of the unlicensed nurse, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, who treated the 26 year old at home in his final moments.
The 26 year old was said to have died on September 12, 2023 two days after sustaining an injury on the back of his right arm. He had developed a sudden convulsion, upon being injected at his Lekki home by the nurse. Few days after his burial, the Lagos state judiciary ordered a coroner’s inquest to unravel the true cause of death, amidst the various accusations and outcry over the incident.
The Coroner, Adedayo Shotobi, sitting at the Magistrates court, Ikorodu, heard the evidence of nineteen persons in all.
On hand to receive the coroner’s highly anticipated decision were family members along with their counsel, Wahab Shittu (SAN) and Kabir Akingbola. Abiola Kolawole also represented the African Women Lawyers Association.
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In her decision, the court relied on the testimonies of the two pathologists that conducted independent autopsies on the deceased. The medical forensic experts had cited severe reaction to an injection as possible cause of death, as the decomposing state of the corpse prevented a definite conclusion. The court also agreed that it was a medical misadventure on the part of the auxiliary nurse who administered the injections on the deceased, without considering the attendant risks. ”I cannot certify a true cause of death, but draw a link from the sudden reaction of the deceased after being injected by the nurse. The death is not linked to any evidence of foul play, but medical negligence.”
Though several witnesses including the wife, Wunmi testified to the constant bullying, harassment and pressures the late artiste suffered at the hands of his former promoter, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley and one Sam Larry, the court ruled that there was no direct link between them and the immediate death.
The court also acknowledged the cultural factors that prompted the decision of the deceased’s father, Joseph Aloba, in conducting the “hasty” and “undignified” burial on the night of his death. But it added that he should still have done the necessary legal and medical procedures including getting a death certificate and having an autopsy done upon the sudden death of the rising star. ”The burial was done hastily, without embalmment, despite the two million naira support given by musician, Davido, and there was no due consultation with crucial members of the family including the mother and wife.’
The court also found that the musician’s wife should have insisted on his proper medical care upon sustaining an injury few days to his death, as well as spoken out or properly documenting for needed action the father’s poor handling of the corpse.
It was also concluded that Mohbad suffered turbulent moments leading to his death, having being failed by various quarters including his family, public institutions and the music industry that should have given him the needed support.
The coroner called for an urgent and befitting burial of the musician and recommended that the nurse be prosecuted for gross medical negligence. She also called for a probe into the failure of the Nigerian police to act timely upon a petition of the deceased where he accused Naira marley and others of being after his life.
Her further recommendations to prevent a reoccurrence of such an incident include, proper legal mechanisms against bullying in the music industry, adequate provision of medical and emergency services for persons, a ban on unlicensed medical personnel from administering intravenous medications on patients and a compulsory, full scale investigation of sudden deaths of young and healthy persons before their burial.
