Taiwo Popoola
An auxiliary nurse, Feyisayo Ogedengbe, has testified before the coroner of inquiry into the death of the late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.
The nurse provided detailed information on how the singer died as the crooner resumed at the Magistrate court sitting in Ikorodu, Lagos, on Saturday.
Giving her testimony, Ogedengbe informed the crooner headed by Magistrate Taofikat Adedayo Shotobi that she had her nursing training at Cornerstone Hospital, Akute, Ogun State between 2014-2017, after which she worked with the hospital for a year before relocating from the area.
According to her, one of her clients, Ayobami Sodiq, aka ‘Spending’ contacted her on September 11, 2023, to administer a Tetanus injection to a friend of his, who got injured on his hand.
According to her, Spending said that he suspected that there was a piece of glass embedded in the hand.
Ogedengbe said that dues to heavy traffic, she was unable to go there that day but was there the next day, being the 12th of September at about 2.30pm, where she met with the patient at Orchid Estate in the Lekki area.
She said it was unknown to her that her patient was Mohbad until she got there and discovered it was the singer’s house.
She told the court that people she met on that day included Mohbad, the singer’s wife and his friend, Ayobami, all in a room.
Explaining further, the nurse said she saw the lower part of Mohbad’s right hand swollen and adminisrered the tetanus injection on his upper arm, intra-muscular route.
She said before administering the drug, she inquired of the singer if he was an ulcer patient and after he said “yes”, she decided not to give a diclofenac injection, but instead, gave him a paracetamol injection.
She said, “I gave Mohbad 4ml of paracetamol and 1ml of water, a total of 5ml which is the normal dosage for adults, and I gave him intravenous (through the vein). I diluted ceftriaxone injection 10ml and gave him slowly.
“I explained to Mohbad and his wife that the paracetamol and ceftriaxone injections were for pain and to treat a bacterial infection; he was feeling uncomfortable because the arm was swollen.
“While taking the ceftriaxone injection – he had taken up to 2ml – Mohbad said he wanted to vomit. I was surprised at this statement, but since that was how he was feeling, I decided to remove the injection, and he went to vomit in the toilet and came back to sit on the floor in the room.
“After Mohbad came back from the toilet, where he had gone back to vomit and sat on the floor, I noticed goosebumps all over his body. I was surprised and showed his wife the goosebumps, and she said it was his normal reaction to injections and that if we poured water on him, he would be fine.
“The wife then took him to the bathroom and started pouring water on his head and it was at this point that she notified Ayobami (DJ) that we should locate the nearest pharmacy.
“There was no vehicle on the premises to convey her and Ayobami to the nearest pharmacy, and as a result, we had to run to the nearest pharmacy where I wanted to get hydrocortisone and saline infusion at the pharmacy to treat the allergic reaction of the goosebumps and help Mohbad with dehydration.”
She admitted that when they got to the nearest pharmacy, they couldn’t get a hydrocortisone injection and Normal Saline infusion and this made her and Ayobami run again into the estate to look for another pharmacy since the first one didn’t have the medication she needed.
“When we got to the second pharmacy, we were able to get hydrocortisone injection and Normal Saline infusion, and by this time it was about 3 pm. Ayobami (DJ) was receiving calls and I heard when he said Mohbad was convulsing, I told him that he should tell the person he was talking to and that arrangements should be made to take Mohbad to the hospital,” the nurse said.
“That by the time I and Ayobami got back to Mohbad’s house, Mohbad had already been carried outside of his house, as a result, the hydrocortisone injection and Normal Saline infusion could not be administered.
“At this point, I didn’t have access to go back into Mohbads’ house, as everybody in the house was already outside and the plan was to get Mohbad to the hospital as quickly as possible.
“Mohbad did not convulse in my presence, neither was he convulsing when I got back to the house. There was still no vehicle to convey us to the hospital so it was Mohbads’ neighbor that offered to assist us to the hospital,” she said.
She said on the way to the hospital in the neighbor’s vehicle, she sat with Mohbad’s wife in the front passenger’s seat, while Adura (Mohbad’s brother), Ayobami, and Mohbad were in the back seat.
“There was terrible and heavy traffic on the road that day, and due to this, Mohbad had to be put on a motorbike to get him to the hospital. I had to get down from the neighbour’s vehicle and I started running after the motorbike that Mohbad was on, due to the heavy traffic. It took about 20 minutes to get to the first hospital,” she narrated.
“When we eventually got to the first hospital, the medical personnel on the ground initially didn’t want to attend to him and it almost caused chaos, but they later attempted CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on him in the hospital. After the CPR, the doctor proclaimed Mohbad was brought in dead. I became shocked and confused.
“The doctor on call at the first hospital called me aside and asked me what medications I administered to Mohbad. I explained myself to the doctor, the medication I gave Mohbad, and the dosage that was administered.
“Darosha then met us at the first hospital, while Spending was on his way to the first hospital. When Darosha came and heard that Mohbad was dead, he didn’t believe it and insisted on taking Mohbad to another hospital.
“Mohbad was put into Darosha’s vehicle, there wasn’t enough space for me to follow the vehicle, but I remember that Mohbad’s wife followed Darosha. I and Ayobami joined spending in the Uber he came with, while Ayobami was calling someone in Darosha’s vehicle to know their whereabouts.
“We eventually got to know that Darosha had taken Mohbad to another hospital at Osapa London In Lekki. It took about 20 minutes to get to the second hospital due to the heavy traffic. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have taken us more than 10 minutes.
“By the time we got to the second hospital, it was almost 6 pm and we met Darosha and some people that followed him. Mohbad was outside the hospital because the management of the hospital didn’t’ allow Darosha to bring Mohbad into the hospital, although the medical team on the ground checked for a pulse on Mohbad but there was none.
“The doctor on call at the second hospital invited me into the hospital and told me to sit down at the reception. While other people present were outside the hospital, the doctor then asked me what happened, and I explained everything to her the way I explained to the doctor at the first hospital.
“After speaking with the doctor at the second hospital, she requested to speak with two family members. So it was Darosha and Spending that she spoke with.
“We spent about an hour at the second hospital, before I left the second hospital to return to Mohbad’s house. At this time, it was already nighttime and it was around 7 pm. Mohbad’s body was brought back to the house at about 8 pm. There were a lot of people in the house at this time and everybody was outside. Mohbad’s lawyer came to meet us in the house.
“At about 9 pm, I, Ayobami, my cousin (who is a lawyer), and Mohbad’s lawyer all in a quest to get a death certificate for Mohbad, visited the police station at Orchid Lekki and the first hospital Mohbad was carried to.
“On getting to the police station at Orchid Lekki, I explained everything that happened to the police officer who attended to us. After explaining everything that happened to the police officer who attended to us, the police officer asked Mohbads’ lawyer and Ayobami if they wanted to file a complaint against me or if they wanted the matter investigated. They responded that they were not sure yet.
“The police officer then directed us to Ajiwe Police station at Ajah if we needed a police report. I’m sure that Mohbad’s lawyer can give a detailed report on the quest to get the police report and death certificate for Mohbad,” she added.
After her testimony, she was cross-examined by counsel for Mohbad’s family, Wahab Shittu (SAN), counsel to Mohbad’s wife, Kabir Akingbolu, and counsel for the state government.
