DNA samples taken from Mohbad's remains and son as paternity case moves forward

Scientists have taken DNA from the body of Mohbad and from his young son under the supervision of a court in Lagos, bringing the long-running row over the boy's paternity a step closer to an answer.

The exercise took place on Saturday, 31 October, according to a report by journalist Olusegun Odufuwa. The court had granted an application by the singer's widow, Omowunmi Aloba, for a supervised test and appointed a welfare officer to oversee the process.

The process began at Mainland General Hospital (IDH) in Yaba, where the singer's samples were taken. Police then escorted them across the city to the state's DNA and forensic laboratory, which also took samples from the boy. Security was tight, after calls on social media for supporters to gather or protest at the venue.

Mohbad's widow attended along with his mother, Abosede, and brother, Adura. Family members were said to be overcome with emotion when his body was identified. The widow's lawyer, Barrister Kabiru, said no date had been fixed for the results, which will be released through the court, and thanked the court and the police for how the exercise was handled.

The singer's father, Joseph Aloba, was the first to publicly question the boy's paternity and has long pushed for a DNA test. On Thursday, the Aloba family, through its head Samuel Aloba, asked for the exercise to be postponed. It wanted the court to name the US laboratory it understood would analyse the samples and to explain how they would be stored and transported. A separate request by the family to be joined as an interested party in the case is due before the court on 16 November.

Mohbad, whose real name was Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, died in September 2023 at the age of 27. His death and the disputes that followed have remained one of the most closely followed stories in Nigerian entertainment.