Mohbad’s death: Pathologist rules out drug abuse, cites allergic reaction

The Coroner, Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi, sitting at the Magistrates’ Court, Ikorodu, said the date to deliver the final decision will be communicated to all parties concerned.

This is as the coroner also heard more evidence from the last witness, a forensic pathologist, Dr. Uwom Eze, who conducted the second autopsy and medical review on Mohbad on Friday.

During the cross-examination of the witness conducted by a counsel representing one of the interested parties in the inquest, the African Women Lawyers Association, Abiodun Kolawole, Eze said the deceased was found during the medical examination not to be indulging in hard drugs or drug abuse, as alleged.

The witness said he discovered Mohbad was given “regulated” doses of antihistamine, a drug given to treat an allergy, and analgesics, or a painkiller, which clearly showed he was in pain at the time of death.

But, he said he couldn’t determine the manner an injection was administered to him, because the information wasn’t available.

Eze also stressed that he explored the injury on the back of Mohbad’s right arm for a possible deeper penetration, which could have led to his death, and found out that it was superficial.

H said, “Even a newborn baby won’t die from that injury. At the time I conducted the autopsy, it wasn’t even there, maybe because of the post-mortem changes on the body. I couldn’t tell how the injection was given, because I had already lost (his) fluids.”

At the last sitting, the witness said the cause of death couldn’t be determined due to the advanced stage of decomposition of the corpse. But, he wouldn’t rule out a severe reaction.
He said, “Considering all the postmortem findings, including ancillary tests and available information, a major disruption of vital organ systems of the body with resultant fatality due to a severe and rapid hypersensitivity reaction to a substance administered by parenteral route is plausible.”

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The 26-year-old was said to have died on September 12, 2023, after sustaining an injury on the back of his right arm. He was treated and given an injection at his Lekki home by a nurse, and died shortly after he developed a sudden convulsion. He was buried the following day.

Following a massive public outcry, the body was exhumed on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy on the orders of the Lagos State Government. The findings in that autopsy concluded on April 29, 2024, showed that the cause of death couldn’t be ascertained as the internal organs were already “in a state of moderate to severe decomposition”.

The second autopsy was ordered by the Coroner in June 2024, after the deceased’s family made an application for an independent review.

Eze also said during his examination by Mohbad’s family counsel, Wahab Shittu (SAN), that the handling of the musician by the supposed nurse looked like a “medical misadventure.”