Nigerian police have detained Afrobeats singer Naira Marley in connection with the death of another musician.
MohBad’s untimely death sparked an outpouring of grief among his fans, who demanded an investigation.
Outrage was directed at Bob Marley, with whom he had a falling out after leaving the musician’s label, Marlian Records.
Marley, who had previously denied any involvement in MohBad’s death, stated that he had returned from abroad to help with the investigation.
“It is critical that I do my part for Imole,” Marley said, referring to MohBad’s other name.
He continued on X on Tuesday, “I will be meeting with the police with hopes for the truth to be revealed and for justice to prevail.
The cause of MohBad’s death, who was 27 years old, is unknown. He passed away last month at a hospital in Lagos, Nigeria.
Sam Larry, a music promoter, was reportedly taken into custody by police last week and was assisting their investigations. Nothing more was mentioned.
Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as MohBad, was hastily buried by his family one day after his passing, which alarmed his followers.
According to MohBad’s father Joseph Aloba, the family’s Yoruba culture dictated how quickly MohBad should be buried.
He continued by saying that a deceased person with living parents must be buried right away in accordance with Yoruba tradition.
MohBad’s body was exhumed by police for an autopsy, but the findings have not yet been made public. On October 13, a coroner’s inquest is scheduled to reopen.
Marley was arrested on Tuesday, according to Lagos State Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin, “for questioning and other investigation activities.”
In Nigeria, Marley is a well-known Afrobeats musician. He was referred to as “an unmissable fixture in Nigerian pop music” by Apple Music last year.
He is a controversial figure, though, and has a history of legal issues. In 2020, he and some of his friends settled out of court with a man who claimed they had assaulted him and taken his car. Marley disputed the allegations.
After MohBad, who had been signed to Marley’s Marlian Records record label for three years, left it, the two had a tense falling out that year.
Since his passing, a number of videos have come to light in which MohBad expressed his displeasure over harassment and royalties theft by label personnel.
Marley called the allegations “lies” and insisted that he had “neither a direct nor an indirect hand in the death of MohBad.”
Two weeks ago, a memorial concert for MohBad was held in a park on Victoria Island in Lagos. Following the concert, fans marched to the Lekki toll gate to continue their vigil.
While dancing to the music of the late musician, who was adored for his streetwise, occasionally lewd lyrics and distinctive baritone voice, many of the mourners were dressed in white T-shirts and held candles or their cell phones aloft as torches.
On social media, the hashtag #justiceformohbad has been popular. His fans have held protests in cities all over southern Nigeria, demanding to know how he died, and the Lagos state governor has launched an investigation involving the nation’s secret police.
