In an exclusive interview with BBC Yoruba, the father of the late Nigerian musician Mohbad shed light on the tragic events surrounding his son’s untimely passing.
He opened up about his sincere efforts to encourage Naira Marley to embark on a path of positive transformation, with the hope of setting a better example for his son.
He went on to relate how emotionally moved he was by the time he saw Naira Marley dining with his son Mohbad.
However, he had learned from his son that Naira Marley had a dark side.
The distraught father further disclosed that his son had experienced repeated physical abuse.
He admitted that despite reporting Mohbad’s beating to the police the first time, nothing was done.
This pattern of terror persisted, with more incidences of violence, including one during a film shoot with Zlatan.
Mohbad’s father, a preacher, emphasized his desperation for justice but said that his religious convictions prevented him from taking the usual legal action.
In order to find the truth, he even raised the prospect of a DNA test.
In Mohbad’s father words;
“My son d!ed at about 3pm, nobody called me. By the time I got to his house, it was 10pm and I saw a lot of crowd. We were denied a police report at the station, We tried to take him to the mortuary but there was no space, I couldn’t be watching him in the house. I had to bury him. Nigerians should forgive me if I offended them.
“Nobody loves him like me. I have never seen Samlarry before in my life. The first day I went to Naira Marley’s house, Mohbad was eating and Naira picked a spoon and was eating with him. This really touched me that he loved him so much but my son told me Naira was evil. When I went to Naira’s room to beg him to forgive my son whatever he might have done, I didn’t know he was recording me.
“The first time Samlarry ever beat him, he told me not to say anything, he reported at the police station but nothing was done. Since then he had always been living with fear. He was beaten again during his video shoot with Zlatan. I need justice for him. As a Pastor, I can’t fight this traditionally because of my religion. If they want to do the DNA test, let them do it.”
