Support group Team Justice in Nigeria and the Diaspora has criticised efforts to exclude the late singer Mohbad’s father, Joseph Aloba, from the ongoing DNA process aimed at determining the paternity of his grandson, Liam.
The group insisted that Aloba retains the legal right to oversee the procedure.
Aloba had previously stated in a viral video that Mohbad’s burial would take place once the DNA test was completed.
In a statement signed by coordinator Toby Bart, the group argued that “there was no legal or moral basis for the government or any agency to take over the procedure or insist on state-supervised sampling in what is a purely family-initiated matter.”
“The law is straightforward. The person who contests paternity and requests a DNA test controls the process. In this case, that person is Mohbad’s father. DNA tests are private medical procedures unless ordered by a court or required within a criminal investigation. No Lagos court has ordered a DNA test, and the police report does not classify the DNA as a forensic necessity. Therefore, the state has no lawful jurisdiction to impose itself,” the statement added.
The controversy followed a recent development in the Magistrates Court in Ikorodu, which reportedly set aside a new application filed by Aloba’s lawyer, Oladayo Ogungbe. The application had requested that the DNA process be conducted openly in two independent laboratories in the United States and the United Kingdom, with samples collected by Aloba’s chosen experts.
Ogungbe stated that the court suggested samples be taken under its supervision and sent to an unspecified foreign laboratory.
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Rejecting this approach, Team Justice said: “There is no justification for excluding Baba from the process he initiated or replacing an internationally verifiable multi-lab plan with an unnamed foreign lab.” The group warned that involving the same state agencies responsible for Mohbad’s “controversial exhumation” and the “inconclusive autopsy and toxicology report” could undermine public confidence.
The group also outlined strict conditions for the DNA test: samples must be collected by Aloba’s expert team, tests must be conducted in two separate labs in the US and UK, and all procedures must follow an internationally recognised, transparent chain of custody.
“Justice cannot be selective or shielded. It must be visible, verifiable, and beyond interference. We stand with Baba Mohbad and with every Nigerian demanding accountability and transparency. The truth must be established in a way that leaves no room for doubt. As we await the Certified True Copy of today’s ruling, we encourage the family to appeal this decision immediately,” the statement concluded.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between Mohbad’s family and his widow, Wunmi Adebanjo, over the paternity of their son and control of the late singer’s estate. In November, the family renewed calls for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mohbad’s death.
Following his death at 27 on September 12, 2023, the Lagos State Police Command set up a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s passing. Earlier legal filings by Aloba at the Ikorodu Coroner’s Court sought to establish the cause of death, with the subsequent DNA test intended to resolve the paternity dispute.