Nigerian street pop musician Naira Marley has clarified what he knows about the death of his former signee, the musician known as Mohbad.
Naira Marley, whose mother named him Abdulazeez Fashola, spoke for almost two hours in a video he posted on his YouTube channel titled My Side of the Story.
The musician had been accused of having a hand in the death of Mohbad, whose father named him Aloba Oladimeji Ilerioluwa, who died in 2023.
In February 2025, a Magistrate Court cleared Naira Marley and music promoter Sam Larry of any involvement in the young musician’s death.
Naira Marley revealed, among other things, where he was when he first heard the news, his relationship with Mohbad, and also his relationship with Mohbad’s family.
Even with all the information released about the case, including the February acquittal, some people still believe he had a hand in Mohbad’s death.
This is partly because of a video in which Mohbad allegedly said that if anything happened to him, people should look at Naira Marley and Sam Larry.
Another issue people point to is the way Mohbad left Marlian Music in 2022 after about two years with the record label.
On October 7th, 2022, Naira Marley announced that he had received a termination letter from Mohbad’s lawyer.
Naira Marley’s Claims
He denied ever bullying or killing Mohbad.
He said he signed Mohbad in December 2019 as part of Marlian Music during his Marlian Fest concert with CV Black and Zinoleesky.
He shared chats between him and Mohbad, including when he first heard in June 2020 that Mohbad was using drugs (referred to as “ice,” which he later learned was crack cocaine).
He claimed he only advised Mohbad and did not force him or any signee to do anything.
On Management
In July 2020, Naira Marley stated that Mohbad made the choice to appoint Tunde as his manager. Marley claimed the only thing he influenced was the percentage the manager would be paid (he suggested 10% instead of 25%).
In 2021, after leaving Marlian Music, Mohbad also parted ways with his manager. Later in 2022, Mohbad and Tunde had a serious fallout, which even turned physical. Marley said this fight happened shortly before Mohbad’s exit from the label.
He stated the last time he saw Mohbad was on October 4th, 2022, after the fight with his manager.
Mohbad’s Health & Mental State
From their WhatsApp chats, Marley recalled Mohbad saying he had been to the hospital before. This tied into reports that Mohbad didn’t like hospitals, which explained why he sought treatment from an auxiliary nurse before his death.
Marley also revealed:
Their contract was simple: Marley covered all expenses, and they split profits 50/50.
He added that initially, Mohbad’s earnings were being deposited into a bank account that wasn’t in his own name, which Marley believed might have belonged to Wunmi’s mother.
Wunmi allegedly told Marley that Mohbad was spending money recklessly on women.
Marley further alleged that Mohbad once took about $72,000 from an account that did not entirely belong to him. Because of this, he said he held on to Mohbad’s streaming income until the funds were reconciled.
Naira Marley also claimed that on March 27, 2022. Mohbad tried to commit suicide. According to Marley, he advised him to distance himself from situations that were causing him stress including issues with his family or wife and instead take some time off with Zinoleesky.
Marley also told him that taking his own life would only make things worse and that “if you die, you’re going straight to hell.”
He claimed the viral video where Mohbad said “If anything happens to me, hold Marlian Music and Naira Marley responsible” was made under duress after the NDLEA arrested Zinoleesky and others.
According to Marley, Mohbad was in a state of psychosis then, distrusting everyone, even his wife, and accusing Zinoleesky of being a snitch.
On Mohbad’s Death
Naira Marley said the last time he saw Mohbad was October 4th, 2022. After that, although people told him Mohbad wanted to apologize, they never met again.
When Mohbad died in September 2023, Marley said he was in Amsterdam with his children for a music video shoot.
He recalled that while eating fried fish with Zinoleesky in Montenegro, he received the shocking news of Mohbad’s death. At first, he thought it was fake news.
He accused bloggers of being paid to frame him, saying:
“I didn’t even get the chance to mourn him properly because people were blaming me for his death.”
Source: BBC Pidgin