The management of the National Medical Services Laboratories in Pennsylvania, United States of America, has denied that the Lagos State Government conducted a toxicology test to determine the cause of singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, alias Mohbad’s death, at its facility.
The NMS Labs assertion came in response to inquiries from Punch journalists, who began on a fact-finding trip to determine the musician’s cause of death.
Before embarking on the fact-finding mission, some concerned members of the public reportedly objected to a pathologist’s claim, made before the Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, May 15, that an autopsy could not determine Mohbad’s cause of death because his corpse had decomposed.
According to reports, the counsel for the state government, O. Akinde, told the Coroner’s Court sitting in the Ikorodu area of the state sometime in November 2023 that a toxicology test, which is an aspect of an autopsy seeking to determine the cause of Mohbad’s death, was conducted in the United States.
To back up this claim, the state commissioner for information and strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, stated during a live phone call with Ahmad Isah, the anchor of an Abuja-based online programme, Brekete Family, in February 2024, that the toxicology test was being conducted at the NMS Labs in Pennsylvania, USA.
“The matter is being handled by the state DNA and Forensic Centre, but they are doing skeletal services, and they have three affiliate centres.
“So, if there is an emergency like this one that we have, they will not say they cannot handle it. So, there are three of them in the US, and the one handling this particular one is the NMS in Pennsylvania, USA,” Omotoso said during the live programme.
The test results apparently arrived in Nigeria in April 2024 and were interpreted by a pathologist. The doctor told the coroner’s court that the autopsy could not determine the cause of Mohbad’s death since the corpse had decayed.
However, during the fact-finding journey, Punch reporter independently verified the location of the NMS Labs at 3701 Welsh Road in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, as well as two NMS crime labs on Stratford Avenue in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and another in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The sole e-mail address that these labs had been using for correspondence was also located on the NMS Labs website, so our correspondent inquired to see if a toxicology test to determine Mohbad’s death was performed at their facility.
The inquiry read in part, “I am a journalist from Punch Newspaper in Nigeria, currently working on a story involving the death of Nigerian hip-hop artist, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.
“Following the Lagos State Government’s active interest in the case, the state Commissioner for Information revealed that the government conducted a toxicology test on the late artist at your facility. Here is the link where he said so at 32:21 (https://youtu.be/SW59DTJZV3I?si=ty0OaXJSTvfuC4Oz).
“However, conflicting reports have emerged, casting doubt on whether or not the toxicology test indeed took place at your facility.
“As a journalist committed to factual reporting, I am independently reaching out to your facility to verify the authenticity of this claim.
“Clarification on this matter will contribute significantly to resolving the discrepancies surrounding the artist’s demise.”
Esther Dede, Client Services Associate, Forensics Division, NMS Labs, responded to PUNCH Metro on May 17 and denied the state government’s assertion that Mohbad’s toxicology test was completed at any of their facilities.
“Unfortunately, we do not have a case for that patient,” Dede said.
Dede, however, mentioned, “To maintain our compliance with HIPAA privacy regulations, we would need authorization from the submitting agency.”
When contacted on Wednesday, Omotoso, the Commissioner for Information, stated that this was the name of the lab provided to him by the state DNA and Forensic Centre.
“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 they went to, and they answered that it was that one. That means I will have to go and check again because that was what I was told.”
The ‘Omo ghetto’ crooner died at the age of 27 on September 12, 2023, and the circumstances surrounding his death sparked debate on social media.
Mohbad, a former record label signee of Marlian Music, founded by Naira Marley, quit the label in February 2022. On September 18, 2023, the Lagos State Police Command formed a 13-man special investigation team to look into the singer’s death.
