A support organization known as Team Justice in Nigeria and the Diaspora has issued a formal objection to alleged attempts to exclude the late singer Mohbad’s father, Mr. Joseph Aloba, from the ongoing DNA process intended to ascertain the paternity of Mohbad’s son, Liam.
According to the group, Mr. Aloba maintains the lawful authority to supervise or determine how the DNA procedure should be conducted, having been the party who raised the paternity challenge. Mr. Aloba previously stated in a publicly circulated video that his son would be interred upon completion of the DNA process.
In a statement signed by the group’s coordinator, Mr. Toby Bart, Team Justice asserted that neither the government nor any agency has legal or moral grounds to assume control over what it described as a “family-initiated matter,” or to mandate a state-supervised sampling procedure.
The statement further read: “The law is unequivocal. The individual contesting paternity and requesting a DNA examination retains authority over the process. In this instance, that individual is Mr. Aloba. DNA testing constitutes a private medical procedure except where directed by a court or required as part of a criminal investigation. No court in Lagos State has issued an order mandating a DNA test, and the police report does not classify the DNA as a forensic necessity. The state therefore lacks jurisdiction to intervene.”
Reports indicate that the Magistrates’ Court in Ikorodu dismissed an application filed by Mr. Aloba’s newly retained counsel, Mr. Oladayo Ogungbe, seeking an open DNA procedure conducted by two independent laboratories located in the United States and the United Kingdom, with samples collected by experts appointed by Mr. Aloba.
According to Mr. Ogungbe, the court instead suggested that the samples be collected under judicial supervision and transferred to an unspecified foreign laboratory.
Team Justice rejected this position, arguing that there exists “no justification for excluding Mr. Aloba from a process he initiated, nor for replacing a transparent, internationally verifiable multi-laboratory arrangement with an unnamed foreign facility.”
The group added that entrusting the procedure to the same state entities responsible for the “controversial exhumation” and the “inconclusive autopsy and toxicology report” could diminish public confidence. It outlined mandatory conditions, including:
Sample collection exclusively by experts appointed by Mr. Aloba;
Testing in two separate laboratories based in the US and UK; and
Strict adherence to an internationally recognized chain of custody.
The statement concluded: “Justice must be transparent, impartial, and capable of verification. We stand with Mr. Aloba and with all Nigerians seeking accountability. As the Certified True Copy of today’s ruling is awaited, we urge the family to pursue an immediate appeal.”
PUNCH Metro previously reported, in November, that Mohbad’s family renewed demands for an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. In a statement signed by Omolayo Aloba and Mr. Joseph Aloba, the family also instructed Mohbad’s partner, Ms. Wunmi Adebanjo, to cease using the surname “Aloba” pending the completion of a court-ordered DNA determination.
The dispute forms part of a broader conflict between Mohbad’s family and his widow concerning the paternity of their son as well as issues relating to the late singer’s estate.
Mohbad, born Ilerioluwa Aloba, died on 12 September 2023 at age 27. Following his death, the Lagos State Police Command constituted a 13-man special investigation team to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident. In 2024, earlier proceedings showed that Mr. Aloba, through counsel, applied to the Ikorodu Coroner’s Court to determine the cause of death and subsequently sought a DNA test to resolve the paternity question.#newsafro_
