Mohbad’s father appeals, challenges court’s refusal to quash legal advice freeing Naira Marley, others
Joseph Aloba, the father of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as MohBad, has approached the Court of Appeal in Lagos to challenge last week’s decision of the State High Court which refused his application to quash the DPP’s legal advice absolving Naira Marley and Sam Larry on allegations of being involved in his son’s death.
In a notice of appeal filed on Monday July 7, by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu (SAN), the appellant, Aloba claimed that the trial court erred in law when it held that, “the powers of the Attorney-General under Section 211(1) of the Constitution are settled and unassailable and that the Attorney General’s discretion in prosecutorial matters is absolute and non-justiciable, subject only to political or public accountability.
“The appellant also stated that the trial judge, Justice Taiwo Olatokun did not avert his mind to section 211(3) of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that “In exercising his power…, the Attorney-General of a State shall have regard to the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process.” Citing the case of Elias Madukaegbu Vs the State, the appellant noted that in the instant case, the exercise of prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General of Lagos State notwithstanding the ongoing proceedings constituted under the Lagos State Coroner’s Systems Law 2015, is not in the public interest, interest of justice and constitutes abuse of judicial process.
Aloba, therefore, asked the court to allow his appeal and to make an order of certiorari to remove the legal advice/decision/recommendation of the Respondents, namely the Director of Public Prosecution, Lagos State, and the Attorney General, in respect of the murder case of late Mohbad. The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the appeal.
On July 2nd, 2025, Justice Taiwo Olatokun, in her judgement, held that the exercise of powers by the Attorney General on whether to prosecute or not was validly exercised. Justice Olatokun also held that the powers of the Attorney General (acting through the DPP) cannot be questioned, and as such, the reliefs sought by the late Mohbad’s father could not be granted. The court therefore dismissed the application. The applicant, Joseph Aloba, suing on behalf of the Aloba family, had dragged the Attorney General of Lagos State and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who were listed as respondents, before the Lagos High Court.
The applicant, through his lawyer, Wahab Shittu (SAN), cited a lack of fair hearing as one of the grounds for the application. In his application, Aloba had said the DPP’s legal advice freeing the duo of Naira Marley and Sam Larry pre-empted the proceedings of the Coroner’s inquest, which is yet to conclude its enquiry and sit into the cause of death of the late Mohbad. He noted that vital suspects mentioned and implicated in the coroner’s proceeding have been freed by the DPP’s legal advice.
