Lately, the media space has been awash with the news of the tragic death of Afro beat star, Moh Bad. Interestingly, not many knew him until his unfortunate demise. He did not have hit songs that had a national appeal. But his songs were hugely popular amongst the youths who have been following his career from his early days in the Music industry to the moment death closed his eyes two weeks ago. And if truth be told, not since the passing of rap star, Dagrin, in 2010, has the death of any musician elicited such public outcry and intense rage from the youths.
Right now, Moh Bad’s death is the subject on the lips of nearly every Nigerian. Everyone is talking about his tragic death and many have expressed their desire to see that he gets justice. Many are asking questions as to who could be behind the death of the 27 year old singer and what the motive behind his death could be.
In this edition, City People takes a look at both known and concealed circumstances surrounding the death of Moh Bad whose real name is Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba. In the course of following closely the events surrounding his death, a lot of unanswered questions have been dug up. But first, who was Moh Bad? What are the circumstances that have been said to have led to his death? Who are the personalities alleged to be connected to his death one way or the other?
According to City People investigations, one of the first names associated with Moh Bad that came on the social media to comment about his death is Bella Shmurda. His words were loaded with strong meanings. He was said to have been very close to his fallen colleague, in fact, they best friends.
”What goes around will surely come around.” These were the exact words of fast-rising Nigerian musician, Bella Shmurda, after news of Mohbad’s death circulated on social media, two weeks ago.
The cause of his death remains unknown as different accounts of circumstances surrounding the deceased exist. One account was that he complained of an ear problem, which led to him being taken to the hospital. He was alleged to have died in Ikorodu, Lagos, after being administered an injection by an auxiliary nurse.
The claim hasn’t been confirmed by anyone as neither his family nor friends have stated how he died.
It was also said that Mohbad died of injuries sustained in a fight with a childhood friend, Primeboy. However, Primeboy, who was among the last persons who saw the deceased in Ikorodu, came out to deny the allegation.
He acknowledged being with the former Marlian Music signee the day before he died but said they had no issue. Accusing fingers are also being pointed at a show promoter, Sam Larry, who was seen in an old video assaulting Mohbad.
The deceased whose demise opened a can of worms about his ordeals after leaving Marlian Record, in June, petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP, over an alleged threat to his life by Sam Larry.
It was learned that the police didn’t act on the petition until Mohbad died, leading to outrage from music lovers across the country and beyond.
Sam Larry, who has also denied culpability, is also being dragged online alongside Naira Marley. Ever since Mohbad’s death last week, videos of his trials and trauma have emerged, revealing his fears, pains and ordeals after leaving Marlian Music.
Mohbad’s death, though painful, is not the first time the Nigerian music industry has lost an artist, but this may probably be the first since the death of Dagrin, that an artist’s death will generate emotions from lots of music lovers.
His death has raised questions about the culture of thuggery, impunity and disregard for law, which have crept into Nigeria’s flourishing music industry.
Mohbad, who has since been buried, may have gone but his death has caused quite a storm in the Entertainment industry, with a lot of people believing his exit was not natural.
Some believe he was killed, while others think he died as a result of Depression. Claims of Mohbad dying after being struck with Juju, black magic powers, also exist.
Suspicions that he was killed were based on past posts Mohbad made, alleging threats to his life and career.
Mohbad, who was signed by Marlian Music alongside three other artists in 2019, left the record label barely two years after being unveiled.
His exit from Marlian Music was controversial. After he left, the talented musician started making scary posts on social media, telling the world that his former record label was after his life.
In an Instagram live video after his release from National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, custody for having cannabis and molly in 2022, Mohbad claimed his arrest was not without the knowledge of his ex-record label.
He said: “I don’t know why these people hate me. They have been doing bad things to me. I went mad because of this issue. Now, they are trying to kill me. Everybody in the whole world, please help me. If I die, just know it was Marlian Music and Naira Marley that killed me.”
Some minutes after the video reports from another live Instagram video showed Mohbad going to a hospital. He was heard crying out, “God please help me, I don’t trust anybody please help me. I don’t want to die.”
The reason for his outburst was not disclosed at the time, but it came after the artist and his colleague, Zinoleesky, were arrested by NDLEA officers.
Mohbad even revealed that he was once beaten up by Naira Marley and his gang after he requested a change of manager. He was seriously brutalised and hospitalised, according to him.
Mohbad also spoke about how his parents were threatened by his former record label and how Naira Marley did all in his power to stop his career growth.
There was even a period when Mohbad was rumoured to have been depressed and thought of ending his life. He was, however, stopped by his close pal, Bella Shmurda, who was around the same vicinity as him, the day he decided to end it all.
Shmurda revealed this early this year. Shmurda in an interview with Chude Jideonwo in January also disclosed that Mohbad contemplated suicide. According to Shmurda, the late singer dealt with depression stemming from the end of his contract with Marlian Music.
“I do not want to say this but I will. I and Mohbad were in an apartment when he suddenly said he felt like jumping from the floor because of the issues he was having with his label. It was his girlfriend who came to alert us that he was at the edge of his window and was about to jump to his death. Anything that will make anyone attempt to take their own life is extreme and when it does happen, these people will join the many tweeting RIP.” Shmurda said.
Shortly after his friend’s death, Shmurda, who posted a picture of him mourning his friend, reiterated his belief that Mohbad became a target of his former record label.
Mourning his friend Mohbad, Bella Shmurda via his Insta-stories section wrote: “What goes around will surely come around,” implying he suspected foul play in Mohbad’s death.
Shmurda’s post was indirectly corroborated by media personality, Lola Okunrin, whose post after Mohbad’s death, pointed fingers at Mohbad’s ex-record label. He accused them of frustrating Mohbad.
“Promoters will want to give Mohbad shows, you will give them bad reviews about him. A boy who is already depressed from his tussles with your record label. You still dey finish am. Isn’t that enough to kill him? You might not have killed him directly but e lowo nbe, “Lola Okunrin, a media personality said.
Bella Shmurda, who is Mohbad’s best friend in the industry, in the post alerted people that Mohbad was suffering from acute depression but it seemed his cry was not attended to. Mohbad, through the lyrics of some of his songs, had given insights into his emotional struggles. The talented musician spoke about certain enemies fighting hard to stop his rise, musically.
Mohbad is survived by his parents, siblings, newborn baby and wife. Meanwhile, fans have demanded an account of his last moments. Mohbad’s songs are now topping the charts on most streaming platforms like Apple, Spotify and Boomplay among others.
One of the many unanswered questions regarding Mohbad’s death is the fact no one is yet to come out to give a detailed account of how the young man actually died. Several commentators online have asked that the place and how he died be made known by those who were with him to the end. It is believed that such a revelation may respond to some posers regarding the untimely exit of the 27-year-old musician. Where did he breathe his last? Who was with him at the time? Was he poisoned, injected or beaten up till he gave up the ghost?
Another question people are asking is is, why did Mohbad’s father hurriedly bury his son? Why couldn’t he even wait for police intervention having known already that his son’s death had generated lots of reactions and condemnations form far and wide? Why didn’t he wait for the Police to come in?
It was even reported that the Baale of the father’s Ikorodu community where Mohbad was buried said the father wanted to bury the son around 1 am in the middle of the night and he wondered why. Now, this has led many to suspect the father may know a thing or two about his son’s death, especially as he himself confessed he has been in communication with Naira Marley
Many are also talking about the sudden disappearance of Sam Larry, Naira Marley’s friend who has, at different times in the past, beaten and bullied Mohbad before. Why did he suddenly go underground the minute the death of Mohbad became public knowledge? Is he directly involved in his death? Does he know the people responsible for Mohbad’s death?
There has been another tricky part to the story. Sam Larry, it has been alleged, had an affair with Mohbad’s wife just about the time the late singer was getting intimate with his wife. Now, some insiders claim that Mohbad’s child actually belongs to Sam Larry, and that indeed, this is the reason why he harbours a deep seated hatred for Mohbad till death. How true is this? Is Sam Larry truly the father of Mohbad’s son?
One also very key question people have been asking, and this has actually evoked anger from many, why didn’t the authorities respond to Mohbad’s petitions to the police? The fallen singer had petitioned the IG when he could no longer deal with the harassment and threats to his life coming from his former music label. But his petition was ignored. Why was it ignored? Below is a draft of Mohbad’s petition:
“I of the above name and address, a law abiding citizen and a Musician bring to your notice the assault and threat to my life by the above mentioned persons.
“On 25th June, 2023 while having a video shoot with another artist by name Zlatan (Ibile, the above mentioned persons numbering about fifteen led by Sam Larry Elegushi invaded the premises with dangerous arms such as guns, cutlasses etc where I was shooting video and scattered the whole process of the shooting, damaged the equipment I was using for the shooting valued about Five Million Naira and started threatening my life which in the process they became violent and assaulted me which I sustained injuries but narrowly escaped.
“Attached to this petition is the said pictures. Total amount I paid for the shooting they have destroyed is Eight Million Naira (N8,000,000) which is non-refundable.
“However, during the assault, they were boasting that they work for Oba Elegushi and that they have been asked to deal with me for reasons best known to them which till date they are still threatening to kill me if seen. Sir, I call on your good office to save my life from the above mentioned persons and bring them to book.
“Thank you for your timely intervention.”
Another big question many are asking is, why is it that many of the artistes that have left Naira Marley’s record label have had to contend with one issue or the other? Two top artistes who left the label under very bitter circumstances reportedly battled mental illness for a long period which very nearly put an end to their flourishing careers. Before Mohbad’s death, he was stalked, attacked, beaten up many times and this grounded to a halt his music career. Naturally, this brought him severe depression which led him to consider suicide a few times but for the timely intervention of close friends. So, Naira should tell us, why do artistes who exit his label always have issues to contend with once they leave?
Questions regarding the state of Mohbad’s marriage to his wife, Omowunmi, have also come up. Before Mohbad died, he had a couple of times done posts and videos showing he was having issues with his marriage and in particular, with his wife. There was a video in which he accused his wife of trying to kill him. Clearly, the marriage was far from smooth and rosy and this stirred up controversies as to whether his wife was directly or indirectly responsible for his death. How true this is remains to be seen.
Again, many want Mohbad’s father to explain the kind of relationship he had with Naira Marley. Why was he in communication with Naira Marley, a man whom his son had said was after his life? What was their conversation about? Did Naira Marley offer him money? So many questions, so many loose ends surrounding circumstances tied to Mohbad’s death.
Surely, with reports coming in that Naira Marley and Sam Larry would both be brought in for questioning, a lot will be unfolding in the coming days and the world is waiting to have answers to many of these questions, especially the one million dollar question: who killed Mohbad?
-WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
