The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has approved a petition by the family of late Nigerian singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, seeking a fresh and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The development was disclosed by the Aloba family through its lawyer, Oladayo Ogungbe, in a statement dated September 29, 2026, and reported on Thursday, October 1, 2026. According to the family, its petition was submitted to the Inspector-General of Police on April 14, 2026, and formally received at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on May 7, 2026.
The petition raised concerns about what the family described as inconsistencies in the earlier investigation into Mohbad's death and requested a comprehensive forensic reconstruction of the events surrounding the singer's death.
According to Ogungbe, the Inspector-General of Police subsequently approved the petition and forwarded it to the Lagos State Police Command for immediate action.
The family was later informed that the matter had been assigned to officers of the Special Enquiry Bureau, who are now handling the fresh investigation.
Ogungbe confirmed that the new investigation had already moved beyond the approval stage, with representatives of the family engaging with the newly assigned investigators.
“The family’s representative has since been invited and has engaged with the new team of investigators assigned to the matter,” the lawyer said.
“The family has continued to follow up with the investigators and remained engaged with the new investigative process.”
The latest development comes more than three years after Mohbad died in Lagos.
Mohbad died on September 12, 2023, at the age of 27, in circumstances that subsequently generated widespread public attention and demands for an investigation.
He was buried the following day, September 13, 2023.
Following public calls for authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding his death, his remains were exhumed on September 21, 2023, as part of an investigation that included an autopsy.
The latest police investigation follows the family's continued demand for further examination of the circumstances surrounding the singer's death.
However, the Aloba family has made an important distinction between its petition to the Inspector-General of Police and a separate case recently decided by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The separate suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/363/2026, was brought by the Registered Trustees of Break the Silence Foundation.
The organisation sought an order compelling the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, to conduct a fresh investigation into Mohbad's death.
The Federal High Court dismissed the suit in September 2026.
Justice James Omotosho held that the organisation had not presented sufficient evidence to establish that the previous police investigation was inadequate.
Among other issues, the judge noted that the organisation did not provide the earlier police investigation report to enable the court to determine whether the investigation had failed to examine relevant individuals or circumstances.
The court therefore dismissed that particular application.
The Aloba family, however, said the Federal High Court case was not instituted by the family and was neither authorised nor consented to by it.
Its lawyer stressed that the dismissal of the Break the Silence Foundation's case should therefore not be interpreted as terminating the separate police investigation arising from the family's April petition.
“The Aloba Family therefore does not wish the public to conflate the dismissal of that suit with the separate investigative process already commenced pursuant to the Family’s petition to the Inspector-General of Police,” Ogungbe said.
According to the family, the police re-investigation remains active despite the outcome of the Federal High Court proceedings.
The family said it would continue cooperating with the Special Enquiry Bureau and provide investigators with relevant information, documents, witnesses and other materials that could assist in establishing the circumstances surrounding Mohbad's death.
It also called for the fresh investigation to be conducted independently, professionally and comprehensively.
The family said it wanted investigators to examine all relevant persons and circumstances connected with the case.
At the same time, it stressed that it was not seeking to determine the outcome of the investigation in advance or conduct what it described as a “trial by media.”
Instead, the family said it wanted a credible and transparent investigative process capable of establishing the facts.
Mohbad's death in September 2023 triggered widespread reactions in Nigeria and beyond.
The singer, whose full name was Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, had established himself in Nigeria's music industry through songs including “Peace,” “Feel Good” and “KPK (Ko Por Ke).”
His sudden death led to public demonstrations and calls for authorities to determine exactly what happened to him.
The Lagos State Police Command subsequently commenced an investigation, while Mohbad's body was exhumed for forensic examination.
Years later, disagreements and legal proceedings connected with his death have continued.
The latest development means there are two events that should not be confused.
The first was the Federal High Court case initiated by the Break the Silence Foundation seeking a court order compelling another police investigation. That case was dismissed.
The second is the Aloba family's own petition, submitted directly to the Inspector-General of Police on April 14, 2026.
That petition was received at Force Headquarters on May 7, 2026, subsequently approved by IGP Olatunji Disu and forwarded to the Lagos State Police Command.
The matter has now been assigned to the Special Enquiry Bureau, and the family says its representatives have already engaged with the new investigators.
No findings from the fresh investigation have yet been announced.
The approval of the petition does not itself establish a new cause of death or implicate any individual in Mohbad's death. It authorises investigators to re-examine the circumstances and evidence surrounding the case.
The family has therefore urged the public to allow the investigative process to proceed without prejudging its outcome.
For the Aloba family, the objective remains establishing through a comprehensive investigation what happened before and around the singer's death on September 12, 2023.
“The re-investigation is ongoing. The Aloba Family remains fully engaged. The pursuit of justice for Mohbad continues,” the family's statement concluded.
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