Uncensored - Mohbad’s Mother Opens Up On Late Son, Ex-Husband, Naira Marley

Abosede, the mother of late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad, speaks with NAOMI CHIMA about the controversies that have trailed her son’s death, as well as her relationship with her ex-husband and Mohbad’s dad, Joseph

It has been alleged that you left your former marriage when Mohbad was little because you were pregnant for another man. What actually led to the breakup of your union with his dad?

All that happened about 10 years ago (when I left Joseph, Mohbad’s dad) that they have been using to fight me is what I want to speak about. Since then, they have been fighting with me, saying that I left my children. I never left my children for 10 years.  I did not drop them with anyone. Their father, Joseph, was the one that wanted to kill me. He wanted to stab me to death, yet I still stayed. However, some people sent my parents a message, that they should come and take me away from his house, before he would kill me.

He (Joseph) is lying that he caught me cheating on him. Many people have been calling me an adulterer, because of the lies he told against me.

What really caused the issues between the both of you?

What caused the fight was that my father actually asked me not to marry him from the onset. He did not even accept our introduction. He was so adamant about not accepting our marriage. But, at that time, I was already pregnant. I had even given birth to my first child, Ibukun. Even after her birth, my dad said that she should be collected from me and brought to him, so that I could come home. When I gave birth to Promise and Mohbad, my father still did not accept. He wanted my mum to collect my first child from me, so that I could come back home, but my mother refused. She did not want me to have children for more than one husband, because if I left Mohbad’s father, I would have to remarry.  She begged my dad, but he still refused. It was after I gave birth to my third child, Adura, that my father and I spoke after a long time. He came to see me at the hospital. Back then, I used to sneak to the house to see my mum, because my father must not see me. He even sent my mother out of the house, because I chose to love and marry Mohbad’s father.

Why did you eventually leave then? 

Our marriage was not up to a year old when problems started. But, because my father had constantly warned me not to marry him, I could not run to him to tell him all that was happening at home. I would simply keep it to myself and bear it.  I did not tell anybody about what was going on. There was no third party involved in what was going on between us. He claimed I did not take care of my children. Meanwhile, I was the one that worked hard to take care of all my children and feed them. I even worked as a housemaid (home help) just to take care of my children. I would leave Mohbad, who was still very little then, around 5:30am, and go to sell kerosene in the Mushin area of Lagos. I would only return around 8pm to breastfeed him. A girl used to take care of him for me then. I was being paid N1,500 for the work I was doing. It was from the meager amounts I made from all those jobs that I used to take care of my children. I never left them.

There have been conflicting information about the circumstances leading to Mohbad’s death. Can you give us a clearer picture of what actually happened?

I actually did not know when my child (Mohbad) died. His father did not tell me. I was in his house for 10 days shortly before he died. I ran back there when I heard that he had died. I was the one who called his father and siblings to inform them. I brought them all together. I called their father to come and see me with all the children, despite all he had done to me. I did not have the strength to fight with him, because I found happiness in my children, and because they are grown up, I brought them all together. But, their father separated us.

I believe that my son was not dead as of the time he was buried. I actually told them not to bury him, but they refused. If they had not buried him at the time he did, I believe he would have lived. Joseph is actually my problem. I believe that he buried my son before he died.

How would you describe the relationship between you and Omowunmi, Mohbad’s wife?

Omowunmi did not offend me, and I don’t have any problem with her. It was Joseph who gave her the effrontery and authority to treat me anyhow. He wanted to control me and Mohbad. He put all of us under her, and elevated her above all of us. Whatever command he gave to her was what she did to us.

Omowunmi and Joseph were very close, and I could not even get between them. Whenever I visited Mohbad’s house, Joseph would tell Omowunmi to put only one meat in my food.

When did you get close to Mohbad and his family?

It was during the customary 41-day celebration for Liam (Mohbad’s son) that I went to my son’s house and saw Omowunmi.

When I got there, Omowunmi’s mum and other family members gathered, and said I should not carry Liam. They said I was a witch, and that I would kill him. My mum had to go there to query them. They later forced me to bath the child. I refused initially, because I felt that if anything happened to the child, they would say I killed him. I only bathed the child once. I discussed this with Mohbad, and he said that anytime I went there to bathe the child, I should call him. But, I did not go there again after the day I went with my mum.

After Mohbad’s death, I left Ikorodu and went to his house. When I got there, I asked Omowunmi what I had done to offend her. She broke down in tears and asked me to forgive her. She admitted that she knew she should have informed me about Mohbad’s death and all that had been happening earlier. She said I was very patient and tolerant. It is not like I cannot fight any of them, but I was more interested in my son’s wellbeing. It was because of my son and other children that I did not fight anyone. Mohbad loved peace, and he did not want me to fight.

Omowunmi and Joseph were friends, and it was pointless to fight any of them.

What made Mohbad’s father upset started during Liam’s christening. He said they should have the ceremony in his house. But, I insisted that it should take place in Mohbad’s house.

Mohbad actually told me not to get involved with what Omowumi and his father were fighting about, and that if I was upset, I should carry my bag and leave. I reported Omowunmi’s mum to Mohbad, as she was abusing Joseph. And, I left.

Mohbad told me, “Mum, I cannot do what my dad asked me to do for you. But, I don’t want you to be supporting him, because I know the truth. He does not want me to do anything for you”.

The major reason Joseph is having issues with Mohbad’s wife is because of my late son’s money and properties.

What kind of relationship did you have with Mohbad before he became popular?

My child never turned his back on me. He loved me, and because of that, there was no need to fight anyone.

Even though I knew that I stood to benefit the most from his wealth, I always told him to take care of his father as well. I asked him to buy a vehicle for his father. He rented a shop for me, because he said he could not be spending on his father alone, without doing the same for me. However, he later told me that his dad did not want him to rent the shop for me, and asked me to keep it (the shop) a secret between me, him and his wife. I agreed, because I saw his father as my enemy, and I wanted to handle the situation tactfully.

I used to go and check up on Mohbad in Aboru, Ipaja, Lagos, where they lived with their father before they relocated to Ikorodu. I had a cordial relationship with my son. I used to buy things for him.

After Mohbad bought the car for Joseph, he (Joseph) still collected over a million naira from him. He kept asking Mohbad for money.

There was a time you made a comment that Joseph is actually not Mohbad’s dad. Is that true?

Joseph scattered all my children. He did not want them together at all. I am not fighting Mohbad’s father. He was actually the one I had Mohbad for. But, he (Joseph) was not happy that I reunited with my son. If he asked his son for anything and he (Mohbad) did not answer on time, he would say I was the one controlling him.

It is true I said that Joseph was not Mohbad’s father, because if he were his father, I don’t think he would be behaving the way he has been doing. Is a good father who is seeking justice over his son’s death supposed to be behaving in such a manner?

I don’t want him to spoil the lives of my other children. The lives of most of the people who have been bullied on social media have been destroyed.

My son died and they were fighting with me in the name of seeking justice for him. Is that how to seek justice? They ruined everything, and still wrongfully accused the people who stood by us. Members of his (Joseph) family started querying me about why I hired a lawyer. I told them that I did not know anything about hiring a lawyer. I asked if it was possible for Mohbad’s wife to hire a lawyer for her father in law. That is a lie. It was Mohbad’s father who scattered the case. He went to see (Femi) Falana with another lawyer. Meanwhile, when Falana asked Mohbad’s father to explain what killed Mohbad, he stated that Naira Marley disciplined his child.

Did you know the friends Mohbad kept before his death?

I followed my son to some shows, so I knew some of his friends, Naira Marley, and his managers. But, I was always praying for him to be safe, because he had become very scared of travelling because of Naira Marley. He said that if he travelled, something could happen to him. He was sleeping in different places, because he could not stay in one place out of fear. Sometimes, I would go and look for him. He even stopped going to his house; he only went there once in a while. I went there once to take him away, and I took him to church. When he was sick, I followed his father to church, so we could pray for our son’s safety. But, Joseph did not like to see me around my son at all. People forced me to go and fight Joseph, but I was trying to be patient.