FACT CHECK: Did AIG Moshood Jimoh Obstruct the Mohbad Probe?
Claim: Social media posts have claimed that Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Moshood Jimoh was responsible for frustrating or mishandling the police investigation into the death of Nigerian singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad. The claim has been widely circulated on Facebook, with users alleging that Jimoh played a central role in compromising the case.
Background: Mohbad died on September 12, 2023, under circumstances that sparked nationwide outrage and demands for justice. Public pressure led the Lagos State Police Command to launch an investigation, while the case later attracted the attention of the Nigeria Police Force headquarters and the Force Criminal Investigation Department (Force CID) in Abuja. The investigation has remained one of Nigeria’s most closely followed criminal cases, generating intense public debate and frequent misinformation.
Recently, however, social media users began attributing responsibility for the handling of the case to AIG Moshood Jimoh, suggesting that he deliberately interfered with or “messed up” the investigation. The allegations resurfaced in viral Facebook posts and videos, prompting fresh public reactions.
Verification:
PRNigeria reviewed the timeline of Mohbad’s death, the police investigation, and Moshood Jimoh’s official appointments.
Read Also:
Available records show that Mohbad died on September 12, 2023. The Lagos State Police Command commenced its investigation shortly afterward under the leadership of the then Commissioner of Police in Lagos Idowu Owohunwa. Throughout 2023 and 2024, several investigative steps, including arrests, interrogations, forensic examinations, and court proceedings, took place before Moshood Jimoh ever assumed leadership of the Lagos Police Command.
Official records from the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission show that Moshood Jimoh was appointed Commissioner of Police for the Lagos State Command on 17 February 2025, more than 17 months after Mohbad’s death on 12 September 2023. He subsequently assumed leadership of the command following the announcement, meaning he was not the Commissioner of Police during the period when the singer died or while the investigation was conducted throughout 2023 and 2024.
Before that appointment, he served in other capacities, including Commissioner of Police for the Eastern Ports, and had no responsibility for policing operations in Lagos during the period when Mohbad died and when the investigation was being conducted.
The timeline alone contradicts the viral claim.
PRNigeria also contacted AIG Moshood Jimoh regarding the allegation. He categorically denied any involvement in the case, stating:
“I was not the Commissioner of Police in Lagos when Mohbad died in 2023 and when the case was investigated throughout 2024. I became Commissioner of Police on 18 February, 2025. I don’t know anything about the Mohbad case. The case, I learnt, ended with the Force CID, Abuja. I have no hand in all these allegations.”
His explanation is consistent with publicly available records of his appointment and the chronology of the investigation.
Further checks also found that social commentator Segun Awosanya, popularly known as Segalink, publicly challenged the viral allegation, pointing out that the claim ignores the documented timeline of Jimoh’s appointment and the progression of the Mohbad investigation.
PRNigeria found no credible evidence from official records, court documents, or police statements linking Moshood Jimoh to the handling, supervision, or alleged compromise of the investigation into Mohbad’s death.
Conclusion:
The allegation that AIG Moshood Jimoh was responsible for mishandling or frustrating the investigation into Mohbad’s death does not withstand scrutiny. Documentary evidence shows he did not become Commissioner of Police in Lagos until February 2025, nearly 17 months after Mohbad’s death and after the major phases of the investigation had already taken place.
The claim appears to rely on misinformation that ignores the established timeline of events and wrongly attributes responsibility to an officer who was not serving in the relevant command when the case was investigated.
Verdict: False. There is no factual basis for claims that he was responsible for “messing up” the investigation into the singer’s death.
By PRNigeria
