The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has said that they responded to Police enquiry regarding the alleged arrest and detention of the late singer Mohbad, since September 23, 2023.
This is following the press briefing held by the commissioner of Police, Lagos command, Idowu Owohunwa, on Friday, October 6.
Recall that Mohbad died on September 12 at the age of 27 under controversial circumstances, leading to the police exhuming his remains and conducting an autopsy on September 21 in a bid to ascertain the cause of his death.
Shortly after his demise, a video of the singer lamenting on a hospital bed went viral on social media.
In the clip, Mohbad claimed he was given a substance to drink while in the custody of the agency.
During the press briefing on Friday, the commissioner of police, Lagos Command, noted that the law enforcement agency had asked the NDLEA to respond to Mohbad’s allegation.
Owohunwa said the NDLEA is yet to respond to the police inquiry.
“Also being awaited is the official response from the NDLEA on one of the viral videos containing allegations by the singer on his experience at the agency’s Lagos office sometimes in October 2022,” the Lagos CP had said.
But in a statement released on Saturday, the NDLEA stated that it replied to the inquiry on September 28, arguing that the police “received it on the same day”.
In the statement, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said that Mohbad was never arrested by the agency.
The statement read, “Following media enquiries on the claim by the Lagos state police command at a press conference on Friday 6th October 2023 that it was yet to get a response from the NDLEA on social media allegations bordering on alleged arrest and detention of the late artiste, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, aka MohBad, the Agency will like to state that indeed its response was sent and received by the police since Thursday 28th September 2023, the statement reads.
“Indeed, to show the seriousness with which the Agency treated the issue, our formal response dated Thursday 28th September 2023 was sent by flight to Lagos, delivered and received by the police same Thursday 28th September. The summary of our response is reproduced below for the benefit of the inquiring public.”
Meanwhile, NDLEA also responded the allegations stipulating that Mohbad got arrested by NDLEA on February 24th, 2022 and was given some substance to drink.
NDLEA response to this read: “We also heard the unsubstantiated allegation on social media that Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, aka MohBad, was arrested and detained by NDLEA on the 24th of February 2022 and given a substance to drink.
“In response to this allegation, we wish to state categorically that MohBad was never arrested neither was he ever detained in the custody of the NDLEA on the said date or any other date before or after. The foregoing being the case, the issue of giving him any substance to drink does not arise.”
On Friday, the police named Feyisayo Ogedengbe, the nurse who attended to Mohbad before his demise “the prime suspect” in the singer’s death.
