Nigerian artiste, Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, has denied claims linking him to the death of his former signee, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also called Mohbad.
Marley, in a video posted on the Marlian Music YouTube channel on Tuesday night, said he neither bullied nor killed the late artiste, whose death in September 2023 sparked protests across Nigeria and beyond.
He said, “I’m doing this video today for my whole Marlians around the world, the ones that stood by me when it was peak, especially the ones that are like ‘Naira Marley might have bullied him, but he didn’t kill him.’ No, I didn’t bully him, and I didn’t kill him.”
Speaking further, Marley referenced his personal journey since returning to Nigeria in 2018, his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2019, and the rapid growth of his music career.
He also narrated how his popularity made it difficult for him to live in Nigeria despite having family in the UK.
On the controversies surrounding Mohbad before his death, Marley said, “Even after the NDLEA issue, the attempted suicide, the fight with his former manager, the law suite to the distributor, the termination letter, the situation with him and Sam Larry, even after all of this, Mohbad still told people he wanted to come and apologize, but I didn’t know he was gonna die. If I knew, I would have probably let him come, but it was just too much for me at that point.”
Marley also maintained that he was out of the country when Mohbad died.
He said, “I was not in Nigeria. I went to Amsterdam. I will show you video with time and date. My main reason travelling out of Nigeria – I wanted to spend time with my kids. As you can see, I surprised them nicely.”
He recalled the moment he first heard about Mohbad’s death, saying, “As soon as they brought the fish someone said that Mohabad is dead. I looked at him and said it’s a lie, he wants to blow again. I can see on Instagram that Instablog is saying that Mohbad died of ear infection. Twitter, boom boom boom, Naira Marley, finally you’ve killed him.”
The singer’s statement comes months after the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions cleared him, music promoter Samson Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, and Owodunni Ibrahim, also known as Primeboy, of any involvement in Mohbad’s death.
