In Nigeria, release on bail of two Afrobeats stars implicated in the death of MohBad, Jeune Afrique

Published on November 18, 2023

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“They were released yesterday around 17 p.m. after having fulfilled all the conditions for bail set by the court,” said Saturday, November 18, the spokesperson for the police of lakes, Benjamin Hundeyin, without giving further details. A bail of 20 million naira (more than 22 euros) was set by the court for their release, according to reports. medias local.

Harassed and threatened

“As part of the conditions of their release on bail, the accused must surrender their passports and report weekly to the State Criminal Investigation Department” in Lagos, the report said. are court side.

Naira Marley, aka Azeez Fashola, and Balogun Samson, better known as Sam Larry, had been summoned by the police a few days apart between September and October in as part of an investigation into the death of singer MohBad. They were then placed in detention.

There were strong tensions between the two men and MohBad, who were all in the music industry. Ce last, 27 years old, real name Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, author of hit songs like “Feel good”, died on September 12 in a Lagos hospital. The circumstances, still unclear de his death, sparked a wave of emotion in Nigeria.

Several of his fans and relatives said the singer had been harassed and physically threatened for months by Figures of the powerful music industry. MohBad's career took off in 2019 after signing his contract with rapper Naira Marley's powerful record label "Marlian music". But their collaboration ended in 2022 following several disagreements.

Naira Marley announced on X (formerly Twitter, where he is followed by nearly 5 million people) “to have returned to Lagos to assist the authorities in carrying out the ongoing investigation", while he was abroad. A total of five people were arrested in connection with this case.

(With AFP)