Allegations, clarifications… 10 things Naira Marley has said since Mohbad’s death

Naira Marley, the Marlian Music label head, has been in the public eye since the death of Mohbad, his former signee.

Mohbad passed away on September 12 and was buried the following day.

The circumstances surrounding his death have continued to stir up controversies on social media, with many music lovers pointing accusing fingers at Marley.

Mohbad’s highly publicised yet controversial departure from Marlian Music also allowed a plethora of wild rumours to fester — since there was no love lost between the pair.

In October 2022, Mohbad alleged he was assaulted by the record label’s head honcho. He also asked his fans to hold Naira Marley responsible if any harm came his way.

Since Mohbad’s demise, thousands of Nigerians have called for the ban of Marlian Music, while nationwide protests have been held to demand justice for the singer.

On September 18, the Lagos police inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe Mohbad’s death.

As part of the investigation, the police exhumed Mohbad’s body to conduct an autopsy, and are awaiting the results.

The Lagos state judiciary also recently announced that on September 29, they will begin a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of Mohbad’s death.

Amid the backlashes and protests, Marley first spoke about Mohbad’s death on September 15. The record label boss mourned his former signee while calling for an investigation into his demise.

The ‘Soapy’ hitmaker would later put out another statement in response to a police invitation for investigation on September 26.

In an attempt to vindicate himself from accusations levelled against him, Marley, in a widely-circulated interview with Reno Omokri, on Wednesday, shared his side of the story with respect to Mohbad’s demise.

From addressing allegations to making clarifications, TheCable Lifestyle highlights 10 key things Naira Marley has said since Mohbad passed on:

• ‘I Have Been Abroad Since August… I Have No Hand In Mohbad’s Death’

“Permit me to categorically state that I have no hand in the death of Ilerioluwa, either directly or indirectly,” he said.

“In addition, I have been out of the country since the 31st of August, 2023 and I’m yet to return.”

• ‘I’ll Return To Nigeria if My Safety Is Guaranteed’
  

“There are a lot of angry mobs that do not really want my head. I have been poisoned enough by the media so if they (police) can guarantee my safety, I will be there,” he said.

• ‘Mohbad’s Life Was Not Endangered By Marlian Music’
  

“There were people on his neck. There were people all over him that were in danger, but he was just not in danger from us,” he said.

“If he was in danger from me, if anybody is scared of me, you will see nobody is gonna come out on videos doing all of this.”

• ‘I Do Not Belong To A Cult Group’
  

“I do not belong to any cult whatsoever. I have not been in Nigeria since like 2019. From England, I do not know what is cultism. I am actually anti-cultist,” he said.

“I am against it. Because of so many times, they have tried to force me into it, but thank God, they have never succeeded in doing it.”

• ‘Mohbad Surrounded Himself With A Lot Of Cultists’

“I believe that people around him know a lot of things. I do understand that he was surrounding himself with a lot of bad people; a lot of cultists,” he said.

• ‘I Have Never Wished Harm On Mohbad’
  

“No family is perfect, families have disagreements but no harm whatsoever was wished on Mohbad. So many things left unsaid but the love was always there,” he said.

• ‘Mohbad Attempted To Commit Suicide’
  

“When I was in America, his girl called me and said he locked himself in a toilet and wanted to kill himself and I called him and kind of recorded the conversation asking him ‘why do you want to kill yourself?” Marley asked.

• ‘Mohbad Apologised To Me For Saying I Was After His Life’
  

“I was outside Nigeria when he made that video saying if he dies they should hold Naira Marley and the Marlians,” he said.

“So when I got back, I spoke to him trying to find out what was wrong but he said he did not understand and apologised.”

• ‘I Tried To Get Help For Mohbad’
  

“I was so concerned, I did pay for a lot of scans like for him to get his scan done. I have also spoken about if he can travel out to get checked properly, he himself said it is his mum and dad that would understand what is wrong with him,” he said.

• ‘I Never Stopped Mohbad From Releasing Music After Leaving My Label’
  

“I am not making money from his new music that he is dropping outside Marlian Music. No! When he left, we were not stopping him from dropping music, we were not stopping his growth,” said.