Barely two years after Oriyomi Hamzat, CEO of Agidigbo 88.7 FM in Ibadan, Oyo State, banned songs by Marlian Music founder Azeez “Naira Marley” Fashola from being played on his station, he has now lifted the restriction. Hamzat had imposed the ban following Naira Marley’s alleged involvement in the death of his former signee, Ilerioluwa “Mohbad” Aloba, who passed away on September 12, 2023, at the age of 27. The development had triggered widespread accusations against the 34-year-old singer, prompting a police investigation.
However, a Magistrate Court in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos, later cleared Naira Marley, music promoter Samson ‘Sam Larry’ Eletu, childhood friend Owodunni ‘Primeboy’ Ibrahim, and former manager Opere Babatunde of any responsibility for Mohbad’s death. Speaking during his programme “Alabaromi” on Monday, Hamzat explained that the ban had been motivated by respect for human life while investigations were ongoing.
“I gave the order that Naira Marley’s songs should not be played on Agidigbo FM at the time. However, when his songs were not played, we also felt hurt because we enjoyed them. But our decision was about valuing life, especially as there was an ongoing investigation, and we all heard what the police were saying then. When the matter got to where it is now, we realised our action had no real impact,” he said.
Hamzat stressed that he never accused the singer of murder or any crime, adding that the station had no quarrel with him.“On this note, Agidigbo 88.7 FM has lifted the ban on his songs. My staff who handle entertainment programmes can now resume playing them. Some people suggested I should apologise to him, but I asked: did he ever say I offended him? We never fought or had issues, except that I instructed his songs not to be played. From today onwards, Naira Marley’s songs will be played on our station,” he stated.
To mark the lifting of the ban, Hamzat played Naira Marley’s 2019 hit “Tesumole” from the “Lord of Lamba” album.At the time of this report, Naira Marley had yet to respond to the development. However, the singer announced on his social media pages that he would share his side of the story concerning Mohbad’s death at 8:00 p.m. today (Tuesday) on the Marlian Music YouTube channel.
Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/
