Joined as defendants in the suit filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos were the police and the Lagos magistrate, Adeola Olatunbosun, who ordered their remand in police custody for 21 days.

Naira Marley and Sam Larry are each demanding N20m damages from the defendants.

In the suit filed through their lawyer, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), they are urging the court to declare that the continued detention “at the Homicide Section of the Lagos State Police Command, Panti, Yaba, Lagos State since October 4, 2023,” constituted a violation of their rights.

They are seeking “an order of the court releasing the applicants forthwith.”

In the affidavits attached to their suits,  deponents said, “Their travails started between October 3 and 4, 2023 when they were arrested by the police on the alleged connection of the applicants with the death of one Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.

“On the 4th day of October 2023,  the Commissioner of Police sought an order in the Magistrates’ Court, held at Yaba to remand them for 30 days.

Chief Magistrate Adeola Olatunbosun granted the police application to remand them for only 21 days in the custody of the police.

“The 21-day remand order granted by Chief Magistrate Olatunbosun has since lapsed on October 26, 2023, and the order has not been renewed.”

On Thursday, September 14, a petition Mohbad filed against SamLarry and others surfaced online. He alleged that they attacked him on a movie set and asked the police to use their office to save his life and also bring his assaulters to book.

Many Nigerians wondered why he was not protected as requested and why SamLarry and others were never brought to book.

However, the spokesperson for the Lagos Annex of the FCID, Oluniyi Ogundeyi, said that the late singer, Mohbad failed to show up at the police station to adopt and defend his petition, and also provide proof of the allegations, to assist the police in prosecuting the suspects, if necessary. He further disclosed that SamLarry via his lawyer, filed a counter petition accusing Mohbad of defamation of character.

We received the petition and followed up on the information provided in the petition, and the suspects were invited. But Mohbad refused to show up to defend his petition and also provide evidence to assist the police in carrying out a proper investigation and forward the matter to the legal department for prosecution, if necessary.

It is true that Mohbad reported the case on June 27, 2023. The IPO confirmed this to me today (Thursday), and showed me the case file. The IPO revealed that Sam Larry and other suspects mentioned in the petition were invited for questioning and they honored the invite and also gave their statements. But the deceased refused to show up to adopt and defend his petition, and a lawyer to Sam Larry and the other suspects filed a counter-petition accusing Mohbad of defaming them.

The police even reached out to Mohbad on several occasions, but he never showed up, and there was nothing the police could do if a petitioner refused to defend their petition and provide evidence to help the police in investigating the matter and forward the case file to the legal department of the suspect’s are found culpable.” he said