Popular Nigerian artist Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, has spoken out about the death of his former signee, Promise Aloba, also known as Mohbad.
Naira Marley revealed the information in a two-hour documentary on Wednesday, detailing how his ex-signee began his musical journey with his label and eventually died.
He claims he never bullied or killed Mohbad, the ‘Ask About Me’ and ‘KPK’ singer.
Mohbad passed away on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at the age of 27.
In February, a Magistrate’s Court in Yaba, Lagos, found Naira Marley and music promoter Sam Larry (Samson Balogun) not responsible for Mohbad’s murder.
The court also released Primeboy (Ibrahim Owodunni) and Babatunde Opere, Mohbad’s former manager.
In July, the Ikorodu Coroner’s Court recommended criminal charges against Feyisayo Ogedengbe, the auxiliary nurse who treated Mohbad shortly before his death.
The state government established the inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the singer’s death.
Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi charged the nurse with gross negligence for delivering an injection to the singer without a doctor’s prescription.
Although the court ruled out foul play or homicide in the case, it determined that the nurse’s conduct was both “unlawful and professionally negligent”.
However, in the new video, Naira Marley claims that on June 7, 2020, he discovered that Mohbad was using an illicit narcotic called Ice.
“He told me he was taking a substance which I finally found out to be ice (crack). I wasn’t angry; I called him and advised him and told him about the danger because I know the damage it has done to people I know from the United Kingdom. He said he got into it because of stress but said he would stay out of it. I didn’t force him to do anything,” the singer said.
Naira Marley also showed evidence that Mohbad picked his own manager in July 2020.
“He was planning to pay Tunde 25 per cent. I said, ‘No, 10 per cent. My things are always plain with him. I try as much as possible to be transparent with every ounce of our dealings, and it’s all love.
“Our business is plain, even though we got accountants. We did 50-50; this is the first time I’m saying it. I paid for anything and everything, and then we split 50-50,” he said.
He further refuted the notion that Mohbad was frightened to visit the hospital, displaying a WhatsApp conversation from November 2020 in which he visited a hospital.
On February 24, 2022, officers from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) invaded the Marlian home and detained Zinoleesky and one Subomi.
Naira Marley, who claimed to be in Sweden at the time, stated that Mohbad was taken along after a physical struggle with the authorities.
“Mohbad went live (on Instagram) under duress shortly after he was released. While having a panic attack, he accused me and others,” he said.
“During the live session, Mohbad said, ‘If I die, everybody na Marlian Music; Naira Marley killed me.’
“On their way to the hospital, he also accused his girl, Zino, a lot of people. He even accused our wives. Shortly after that, whilst in a vulnerable state of psychosis, he made a statement calling Zino a snitch,” said Naira Marley.
Following that incident, Mohbad remained with Marlian Music.
Naira Marley stated that Mohbad, his parents, and his girlfriend Wunmi apologised for the singer’s behaviour.
The ‘Soapy’ singer stated that following the NDLEA incident, Mohbad stopped frequenting Marlian’s house. He claimed he sought to gain Mohbad’s assistance by paying for health checkups and drugs.
On March 27, 2022, Mohbad attempted suicide. Naira Marley claimed he was in Puerto Rico at the time.
On his return to Nigeria, he stated that he spoke with Mohbad about his online search for Sniper, a deadly insecticide. Naira Marley stated that he also consulted with Mohbad’s parents, who decided that Mohbad should be taken away.
Naira Marley claimed that one fateful day, Mohbad got intoxicated and came to Marlian’s residence to fight his manager after they had a falling out.
The artist added that following the incident, Mohbad took to Twitter, now X, accusing him (Naira Marley) of threatening his life because he wanted to cut ways with his manager.
“We suspect Mohbad had given his phone to someone to fabricate the story,” said Naira Marley.
“On October 7, 2022, Mohbad’s lawyer wrote a letter to Marlian Music, saying the musician wanted to leave the record label. Naira Marley said he sent the payment log to Mohbad’s lawyer to show transparency in their financial transactions.
“Not long after that, in December 2022, Mohbad withdrew $72,000 from a DSP partner. All this money he took was not his. We had to hold some of his royalty payment till he returned the money he took,” he said.
Naira Marley stated that when Mohbad withdrew the funds, he ceased hearing from him and his lawyers.
He stated that the last time he saw Mohbad was on October 4, 2022, when the latter fought with his manager.
According to Naira Marley, he was in Amsterdam on the day Mohbad died. He stated that people began suspecting him of being complicit in Mohbad’s killing.
Naira Marley stated that he expected people who were with Mohbad 24 to 48 hours before his murder to have been arrested.
