The toxicology tests to determine the cause of death of the popular Nigerian music star, Ilerioluwa Aloba, known professionally as Mohbad, have been completed, with results now forwarded to the Lagos State police.
The tests, conducted in the United States, aim to provide clarity on the circumstances surrounding the singer’s untimely demise.
Lagos State counsel, Oluwaseun Akinde, disclosed to the coroner’s court in Ikorodu last November that while the autopsy of the external body was concluded, the toxicology test, focusing on internal analysis, was pending at the time.
The recent completion of this test marks a significant advancement in the investigation.
An official from the Lagos State government, preferring to remain anonymous due to restrictions on public communications about the case, informed Punch that the toxicology results were received by the state’s DNA and Forensic Centre last week.
The results were then transmitted to the police earlier this week to assist with further investigations.
The source said, “The toxicology test is ready and given to the police. We projected 10 weeks from the outset but it came in before then. It was received by the DNA and Forensic Centre last week and has been sent to the police.”
A source in the Lagos State Police Command who also spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not permitted to speak to the press confirmed the receipt of the result.
The source said, “The toxicology report is with us. It arrived on Monday but it is medical jargon for us. We don’t understand what it is. So it has been sent to the pathologist that carried out the autopsy to analyse and interpret it.”
The Director of Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre, Richard Somiari, on March 20, said that the toxicology result would be ready in the next three to four weeks.
Somiari, while testifying during a coroner’s inquest into the death of the singer, said, “We expected to get the first set of autopsy results in three to four weeks and re-confirm to authenticate the cause of the death.”
He said, “We searched for multiple possibilities, to check if poison was involved in the death of Mohbad since no actual cause was mentioned.”
The forensic expert assured the public of adequate security and monitoring of samples for the autopsy.
He said, “We have a place where items are stored for safety and security of results. There is a procedure for monitoring samples moved abroad.”
Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.