Popular musician, Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, has spoken at length about the controversies surrounding the death of his former signee, Promise Aloba, aka Mohbad, insisting he never bullied nor had a hand in the death of the ‘Ask About Me’ and ‘KPK’ crooner.
Speaking in a fresh two-hour documentary released on Wednesday, Naira Marley recounted how Mohbad began his journey at Marlian Music, the challenges they both faced, and the events that trailed his tragic death.
According to him, rumours that he was responsible for Mohbad’s death were false and damaging. “I never bullied Mohbad and I never killed him,” he said.
The singer explained that issues first came to his attention on June 7, 2020, when he found out Mohbad was using a hard substance. “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,” he narrated.
On Mohbad’s management, he clarified that the late singer personally chose his own manager. “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 revealed.
He also debunked claims that Mohbad was afraid of hospitals, showing a WhatsApp chat from November 2020 as evidence that he indeed went for treatment.
Recalling the February 24, 2022 raid by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Marlian House, the singer said Mohbad only got into trouble after resisting officers. “Mohbad went live (on Instagram) under duress shortly after he was released. While having a panic attack he accused me and others. During the live session, Mohbad said, ‘If I die, everybody na Marlian Music, Naira Marley kill 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,” Naira Marley explained.
He disclosed that Mohbad later apologised for those accusations alongside his parents and girlfriend, Wunmi. After the NDLEA incident, Mohbad began spending less time at the Marlian house. “I tried to get him help by paying for health checks and medications,” he added.
According to him, on March 27, 2022, Mohbad attempted suicide while he (Naira Marley) was away in Puerto Rico. “On my return to Nigeria, I spoke with Mohbad about his online search for Sniper. I also spoke with his parents, and we concluded that Mohbad should be taken away,” he said.
The singer also addressed Mohbad’s exit from the label, saying the late artiste accused him falsely on social media after a fallout with his manager. “We suspect Mohbad had given his phone to someone to fabricate the story,” he stated.
Read also: Nigeria may face rice scarcity as River Niger overflow destroys farms
On October 7, 2022, Mohbad’s lawyer wrote to Marlian Music about his intention to leave the label. “I sent the payment log to his lawyer to show transparency in our financial transactions. Not long after that, in December 2022, Mohbad withdrew $72,000 from a DSP partner. All these monies he took were not his. We had to hold some of his royalty payment till he returned the money he took,” he explained.
Naira Marley said the last time he saw Mohbad was on October 4, 2022, after his fight with his manager. He insisted that he was in Amsterdam at the time of Mohbad’s death on September 12, 2023.
“I expected that those who were with Mohbad 24 to 48 hours before his death should have been arrested,” he added.
In February, a Magistrate’s Court in Yaba, Lagos, acquitted Naira Marley, Sam Larry, Primeboy, and Mohbad’s former manager of blame in the singer’s death. In July, the Coroner’s Court in Ikorodu recommended the prosecution of auxiliary nurse, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, whose “unlawful and professionally negligent” treatment of Mohbad was ruled as the immediate cause of his death.
