US Lab Denies Conducting Poison Test On Late Mohbad

 

The management of the National Medical Services (NMS) Laboratories in Pennsylvania, United States of America, has refuted the claim by the Lagos State Government that a toxicology test to ascertain the cause of the death of singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba popularly known as Mohbad, was conducted at its facility.

The claim by the NMS Labs was in response to inquiries made by someone who embarked on a fact-finding mission to ascertain the musician’s cause of death.

Before embarking on the fact-finding mission, some concerned members of the public reportedly protested against the claim made by a pathologist, who appeared before the Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, May 15, and said an autopsy could not ascertain Mohbad’s cause of death because his corpse had decomposed.

It was gathered that 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.

Buttressing this claim, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, while responding to inquiries via a live telephone call with Ahmad Isah, the anchor of an Abuja-based online programme, Brekete Family, sometime in February 2024, said 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 affiliate centres which are three.

“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 result of the test reportedly arrived in Nigeria sometime in April 2024 and was passed on to a pathologist for interpretation.

Appearing before the coroner’s court, the pathologist disclosed that the autopsy could not ascertain the cause of Mohbad’s death because the corpse had decomposed.

It was also gathered that the verified location of the NMS Labs is on 3701 Welsh Road, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and that of two NMS crime labs on Stratford Avenue, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania and another at Grand Prairie in Texas, United States of America.

The single e-mail address that these labs had been using for correspondence was also discovered on the NMS Labs’ website and also an inquiry was sent to confirm if a toxicology test to ascertain Mohbad’s death was conducted at their facility.

After the inquiry message was sent to the NMS Labs, they (NMS Labs) responded on May 17.

Esther Dede, Client Services Associate of the Forensics Division at NMS Labs, denied the allegations by the state government regarding Mohbad’s toxicology test being conducted at their labs.

Here's Her Response Below:

“Regrettably, we have no record of such a case involving that patient.”

Nevertheless, Dede highlighted, “To comply with HIPAA privacy regulations, we require authorization from the submitting agency.”

Upon reaching out to Commissioner Omotoso on Wednesday, he reiterated that the lab’s name was provided to him by the state DNA and Forensic Centre.

“This information was relayed to me by the officials at the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre who handled the sample submission. They collaborate with three other labs. In cases of urgency, they can utilize any of these facilities. I will need to conduct further verification as per the information provided,” he stated.

Mohbad, who passed away at the age of 27 on September 12, 2023, had his death shrouded in controversy, prompting investigations and reactions on social media.

Formerly signed under Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022. Following his demise, the Lagos State Police Command established a special investigation team on September 18, 2023, to delve into the circumstances surrounding his passing.

Notably, Naira Marley and Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, were apprehended in connection with Mohbad’s demise.

The singer’s remains were exhumed on September 21, 2023, for a post-mortem examination to uncover the cause of death.