Omowunmi Aloba, the widow of the late Nigerian recording artiste, Ilerioluwa Aloba, who is better known as Mohbad, has ignored the Aloba family’s directive to stop using their surname in public or private records pending the outcome of a court-ordered DNA.
They issued the directive in a statement signed by the head of the family, Omolayo Aloba, and Mohbad’s father, Joseph Aloba.
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“For the avoidance of doubt, no statutory or customary marriage was contracted between the late Mohbad and Wunmi Adebanjo, as the required Yoruba traditional rites (payment of bride price) were never completed,” the statement disclosed.
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However, in an Instagram story on Thursday, November 13, Wunmi added Aloba to her name, a move seemingly in reaction to the family’s directive.
“Please patronise Wunmi Aloba; Liam Aloba needs to be taken care of,” she wrote.
The family also named three administrators, Ajewole Aloba, Rasaq Famuyiwa, and Alonge Aloba, to manage the deceased’s assets, royalties, and intellectual property.
The family added that if the DNA result confirms that the deceased fathered the child, Liam, both mother and child would be recognised within the estate administration process.
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Meanwhile, the legal representative of the late singer’s widow, Kabir Akingbolu, has faulted the Aloba family’s directive restraining his client, Wunmi, from using her late husband’s surname.
Akingbolu, who represents Wunmi in the ongoing paternity and estate-related proceedings, dismissed it as illegal and sentimental, citing constitutional backing for her right to continue bearing the name.
“Nobody can stop her from bearing Aloba. That is the name given to her by her husband, and under the law, she has every right to keep it. The Supreme Court, in the case of Ojukwu vs Ojukwu, held that no one has a monopoly over a surname. There are thousands of Alobas in the world. They are the ones running from the DNA. We have always been ready — even if it’s today or tomorrow, we’ll be there,” Akingbolu added.
