By Ayodele Johnson

All sides of the coin are facing the Afrobeats singer and record label exec, Naira Marley, following an invite he has received from Nigeria’s House of Representatives members on Thursday, 26 October. The invitation is to work out any grey area with regards to pending benefits that may be due to Ilerioluwa Aloba ‘Mohbad’ who was previously a signee under his platform.

While he was contracted to Marlian Music World for a two-year period, Mohbad, who passed away in early September, was believed to have been bullied by Naira Marley. That is why a police investigation listed the label exec among five primary suspects whose actions, be it directly or not, may have led to his demise, even though Naira Marley denies any wrongdoing.

His date with the parliamentarians is expected to happen on the last day of October but it won’t be only him because Mohbad’s manager, known as Jiggy Adeoye has also been invited. The letter asking for their presence was reportedly routed through the Performing Musicians Associations of Nigeria (PMAN) and its president, Mr Pretty Okafor. It came about after a motion that was moved a month ago by a Representative, Babajimi Benson of the All Progressives Congress (Lagos) asking that the mystery surrounding the death be unraveled.

Today, I moved a motion on the floor of the House of Representatives over the mystery surrounding the demise of the talented artist, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba popularly known as Mohbad #JusticeForMohbad. pic.twitter.com/2XHZlmNpVi

— Babajimi Benson (@IamJimiBenson) September 26, 2023

ALSO READ: Culprit behind Mohbad’s death wants to get Naira Marley too

This was the build-up that led to the letter which partly reads: “The House Committee on Justice, Youth and Legislative Compliance invites you and the legal team of MOHBAD for an interactive session as regards a referral received being a resolution of the House of Representatives during their plenary session on Tuesday 26^th September 2023 with respect to the circumstances surrounding the royalties and other benefits of Mohbad and to ascertain the level of your interaction with other relevant copyright organisations.”

When the meeting has been finally held, it will be “an interactive session with the chairman” of the committee, which has been fixed for “Tuesday 31st October 2023 at 2:30 pm.”

Since Mohbad died, his story has reached the world over, drawing focus to the plight that artistes find themselves in existing side-by-side with a record label they are signed to. In his case, police investigations have revealed bullying, deceit and medical recklessness that have led to different personalities being fished out.

Two persons in the music scene were identified, including Sam Larry and Naira Marley who is a much bigger fish to fry. The trio, in addition to the deceased, struck a musical partnership that pitched around record management, performances and unfortunately violence with Mohbad singled out as the victim.

Lagos State Police Commissioner Idowu Owohunwa hosted a briefing on Friday 6 October, the day it was revealed that there are “ample electronic and credible witness pieces of evidence linking” the former associates “to cyberbullying, a threat to life, assault occasioning harm, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace against the deceased in his lifetime”.