Court Postpones DNA Case for Mohbad’s Son

The court dealing with the paternity case of Liam, the son of late Nigerian singer Ilerioluwa "Mohbad" Aloba, has pushed the case to 16 November.

An Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court approved three DNA tests in February. This decision came after Joseph Aloba, Mohbad’s father, requested a court-supervised test to confirm his grandson’s paternity.

The court ordered two facilities in the UK and one in the US to carry out the tests. Members of the Aloba family and Wunmi, Mohbad’s widow, were there when samples were taken.

A video that went viral on Thursday showed the family’s lawyer, Oladayo Ogungbe, with Mr Aloba discussing the latest updates. He said the court postponed the case after the family raised worries about the proposed testing arrangements.

Mr Ogungbe mentioned that the court has appointed a new officer to look into the family’s concerns about the chosen testing facility. He also questioned the facility’s suitability since its director had been involved in a past request for DNA testing.

Mr Ogungbe said: "What came up in court today is not the regular DNA; it is the reportedly secret DNA that was found by the other party while our own was still ongoing.

“We have filed a motion to be joined as an interested party, and the motion has now been adjourned to 16th of November 2026.”

He added that the new officer listened to the family’s worries and promised to investigate before reporting back to them. The family plans to hold off on further action until they hear from her.

According to Mr Ogungbe, the officer answered some questions, but the family still had concerns. "However, the court has now appointed a new welfare officer. I don’t want to mention her name for private purposes. We met with her; she made a good impression, and she explained several things to us.

“And we made it known to her because a centre was picked in Lagos for the DNA. We have our reservation with respect to the director of that centre, who was the same person who conducted Mohbad’s former autopsy."

The family sought to understand the centre’s role in the testing process. They wanted to know if it would conduct the test or send the samples to another lab.

Mr Ogungbe also said they wanted details about where the samples would be taken, how they would be handled, and how long it would take to send them to the lab.

"If the welfare officer at the centre can guarantee us, one, the procedure for taking the sample, the chain of custody, because it is clear they don’t do tissue-based DNA. They are merely a collection centre. They merely collect samples. So we want to be sure which particular laboratory overseas they want to transfer the sample to. What is the timeline for taking the sample and sending it?

“Because during the coroner inquest, it took more than six, eight months before the sample that was taken was transferred to the purported place that was used to conduct the autopsies. And unfortunately, Aloba wrote to them, and they said they never received any sample related to Mohbad,” Mr Ogungbe said.

He also called for transparency in the process. He stressed that the samples must be handled correctly and the test’s reliability must be ensured.

Mohbad died on 12 September 2023 at the age of 27. He was buried the next day. His body was exhumed nine days after burial for an autopsy to find out how he died.

Three years later, many questions about his death remain unanswered. Key issues include the paternity dispute over his son, Liam, and disagreements about his assets.

These issues have delayed his final burial. Mohbad’s father has said he will not bury his son until the cause of death is known. He still demands justice and answers about what happened before Mohbad’s death.