US lab counters Lagos, says it didn’t conduct toxicology test on Mohbad

The National Medical Services Laboratories (NMS) in Pennsylvania has denied the claim by the Lagos state government on a toxicology test conducted to ascertain the cause of Mohbad‘s death. 

Born Ilerioluwa Aloba, the singer died on September 12, 2023, and was buried the following day. On September 21, his body was exhumed by police for an autopsy.

In February, Gbenga Omotosho, the Lagos commissioner for information, revealed that the autopsy was conducted in the United States at the NMS labs.

“What do we do about Mohbad’s case? We sent the sample to the United States of America. If it were to be our laboratory here we can easily stroll down there and say what are you guys doing? This thing is taking time now. And shout at them and say we have the authority of the governor to speed up this matter,” he had said in an interview.

“But in America, it cannot work like that. All of the money they asked for in foreign currency, we have paid. We paid for everything. We spoke to them on the telephone and they said ‘Look, you people have to wait. It is not the kind of thing you get in one week or two weeks. And definitely, by the time we finish this job, we will be pleased. So we kept quiet.

“The matter is being handled by Lagos State DNA and Forensics centre. But they are doing skeletal services, and they have affiliate centres which are three. There are three of them in the US. And the one that is handling this particular one is NMS – it is situated in Pennsylvania, United States of America. They said latest 10 weeks it will be ready.”

A few months later, the autopsy failed to determine the cause of death as the singer’s body had decomposed when tests were conducted.

However, according to PUNCH, in an email sent to the laboratory seeking clarifications on the claim by the state government, NMS labs through Esther Dede, the client services associate, forensics division, disclosed that no case related to Mohbad was being conducted at their facility.

“Unfortunately, we do not have a case for that patient,” she said.

“To maintain our compliance with HIPAA privacy regulations, we would need authorisation from the submitting agency.”

Reacting, Omotoso reiterated that the NMS lab was the facility submitted by the state DNA and Forensic centre for Mohbad’s autopsy.

“This was what I was told by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre officials who took the sample there. We are dealing with the officials of the centre, they have three other labs that they have affiliations with. If they have an emergency, they can go to any of the three labs. I asked which particular one did they go to and they answered it was that one. That means I will have to go and check again because that was what I was told,” he said.

Mohbad’s demise has continued to elicit discussions on social media, including questions about his son’s paternity.