From the moment the music fell silent with Mohbad’s untimely passing, the question of inheritance, paternity, and public grief merged into a national drama of staggering emotional intensity. At the heart lies Liam—Mohbad’s son, born during his lifetime, named by him, a supposed heir—but shrouded in doubt by the insistence of his grandfather, Joseph Aloba.
The inheritance battle cannot be separated from DNA credibility. Mohbad’s father demanded stringent proof. In February 2025 he stated unambiguously: even if DNA confirmed Liam as his grandson, he would sue Omowunmi—Mohbad’s widow—saying “how can they be taking a five‑month‑old to shows with weed smokers?” . That comment sent a chilling message: DNA could answer some questions, but his mistrust would not dissolve.
Omowunmi responded with fire. She accused her father‑in‑law of pressuring her into conception, then publicly defaming her while simultaneously delaying the very tests he demanded. She noted she agreed to DNA testing in 2024 but was blocked over twisting conditions—such as insisting the autopsy pathologist conduct the sample—provoking legal objections. After the court sided with her lawyer, the process stalled when her father‑in‑law reversed course again. Since then, no action on the DNA, but endless public defamation .
Meanwhile, prominent voices entered the fray. Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo argued that only family members should request DNA—not strangers on social media—and reminded Nigerians that if Mohbad never doubted his son while alive, others should not now . Mary Njoku echoed this sentiment, denouncing calls for DNA tests as “pure evil,” urging respect for a grieving widow who lost both a partner and protector .
Then came VDM, a polarizing activist influencer. Initially accusing Omowunmi of obstruction, claiming interviews she granted were staged and half‑truths were avoided. He pledged to sponsor her DNA test—hotel, lab, security—challenging Tonto Dikeh to join with her own case, juxtaposing DNA transparency across scandals . Later, after listening to Omowunmi’s narrative, VDM softened: he stated she was “70% innocent,” a pawn in a larger manipulation that dragged her into the center of a media storm far beyond her control .
Amid the emotional theater, Lizzy Anjorin added her flair—advising mothers of Nigerian artists to “join cults or witchcraft” to shield their children in a treacherous industry where loyalty is fragile and threats abound . Her fiery rhetoric polarized opinion—some hailed her raw honesty; others condemned it as superstition during mourning.
The Iyawo saga, as Nigerian tabloids now call it, became a crossroads of identity, grief, and familial rights. Omowunmi claimed that her silence early on was about mourning with dignity—not weakness—while VDM’s interventions turned her into a reluctant public figure, forced into interviews, all while her father‑in‑law’s legal maneuvering prevented resolution  .
Public protest and legal pressure grew, especially after a human rights group called for legislation requiring free DNA testing in Nigeria—citing Mohbad’s case as an example of why clarity and justice must not be hostage to wealth or social capital . The chants of “#Justice4Mohbad” echoed in candlelight vigils from Lagos to London, demanding truth not just in his death but in the legacy he left behind.
This is no simple story of inheritance. It is a national drama of mistrust, grief weaponized, and the law wrestling with power and sentiment. DNA represents more than biology—it is a symbol of accountability and potential healing. Without it, decisions about property, emotional legitimacy, and society’s judgment hang in limbo.
If DNA clears the biological question, legal resolution may follow—but will emotional wounds close? Mohbad’s legacy will not be defined by property lines or public slogans. It will be written in how the institutions—courts, media, religious and cultural voices—handle a grieving widow, a scandalized child, and a nation’s demand for justice beyond the headlines.
Heritage, truth, and paternity remain suspended. Only with transparent DNA testing, conducted ethically, and respected by all parties, can one faint hope of clarity emerge from chaos. Until then, this remains one of Nigeria’s most iconic feuds—where an inheritance spark ignited a battle over identity, loyalty, and the very soul of justice
The final days of Mohbad’s life are shrouded in layers of contradiction, hearsay, and unmet expectations. As his health deteriorated in September 2023—reportedly from complications after a self‑inflicted injury and unregulated medical care—Mohbad’s supporters cried foul: his body was exhumed for autopsy, protests erupted across Lagos, Abuja, and even in London and New York, with protesters demanding DNA tests on his alleged son and calling for justice .
In October 2023, police acted. Naira Marley was briefly detained and questioned under intense public pressure. But the coroner’s inquest remained incomplete, and crucial testimonies were either curtailed or dismissed. In the midst of this, artist‑activist VDM (VeryDarkMan) reignited interest in the case—interviewing Mohbad’s inner circle including Sam Larry, Dominica, Spending, and others—exposing whistle‑blowers who contested narratives offered by those close to the late singer. During one interview, Dominica rebutted the claim that NDLEA agents poisoned Mohbad, a point that prompted a cryptic but defiant message from Naira Marley on social media: “If the world seems to oppose you, Allah’s support is paramount” .
February 2025 brought what many saw as a turning point: Lagos State’s DPP issued legal advice absolving Naira Marley, Sam Larry, Prime Boy, and Mohbad’s former manager of any criminal conduct. The court read the advice in a Yaba magistrates’ court, effectively closing the case without any charges of conspiracy or homicide. Instead, blame fell on an auxiliary nurse and a friend who arranged experimental medical care; they were prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter, accused of administering injections recklessly and without clinical protocol .
Naira Marley broke his silence, posting Quranic verses about divine justice, declaring that the accusations formed a cloud of imagination born from rumors, that he had reconciled with Mohbad before his death, and lamenting the hurt of being vilified in the public eye. “I never thought silence could be so loud… You let them call me a killer…” he lamented, portraying himself as both victim and survivor of unrelenting media scrutiny and broken allegiances .
Yet the story was far from settled. Disgruntled by what he sees as a miscarriage of justice, Mohbad’s father Joseph Aloba filed a notice of appeal on July 9, 2025, formally challenging the DPP’s ruling and seeking judicial review. He claimed the coroner’s inquest was undermined by premature release of witnesses and politicized prosecutorial power, invoking the principle that public interest and due process must temper Executive decisions—even those of the Attorney‑General—when allegations involve powerful figures .
Amid the legal wrangling, the question of inheritance has stirred a toxic mixture of speculation and entitlement. While Mohbad publicly accepted, named, and fathered the child in question during his lifetime, the subsequent family infighting has exposed how fragile hopes for financial legacy can become when fame dissolves into controversy. Those eyeing the inheritance are warned: the law may yet take its course, but the emotional spillover, public pressure, and manipulation risk turning entitlement into figment.
Throughout, various players—Naira Marley, Sam Larry, Omowunmi (Mohbad’s wife), VDM, the Nigeria Police, grieving fans, and international protesters—have all sought to shape the narrative. Marley’s testimony before the coroner urged investigators to probe not only those in the public glare but the 15 individuals present at Mohbad’s home in his final hours, including his wife and brother, hinting that deeper truths lay among the intimate circle who managed his last moments .
Wunmi, Mohbad’s widow, remains at the center of contradictory accounts. Some allege she altered statements about his condition or involvement in care decisions. Others say she attempted to mislead investigators. The chorus for her questioning grows ever louder—from Naira Marley, from VDM, and from activist groups urging full transparency. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police and the homicide division have pledged renewed vigilance, citing the case as an opportunity to restore some trust from a populace fatigued by systemic failures  .
The saga of Mohbad is larger than one artist’s life or death; it’s a mirror held to a nation wrestling with questions of corruption, justice, exploitation, and the commercialization of art. From manifestions of street protests across Nigeria and diaspora cities, through legal motions filed in appellate courts, to tweets and TikToks replaying every press conference, Mohbad’s story has become a cause célèbre—and a grim lesson for emerging artists.
There remains no finality. Appeal courts are now invited to question whether a DPP’s advice can override inquest processes or whether prosecutorial discretion was wielded with impunity. Mohbad’s inheritance claim stands entangled in emotive rhetoric, but it may yet find resolution in legal, not social media, hands. As this confrontation between powerful personalities and devastated fans continues, the country holds its breath for final reckoning—not only for Mohbad’s name, but for the integrity of Nigeria’s system that failed him, then failed his memory.
This is not just a tragic tale; it is a national fable of fame, exploitation, crisis of belief, and the slow, uneven march of justice.
By Jide Adesina
1stafrika Reporting
August, 2025
