A UK-based Nigerian doctor, Dr. Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya, has described the burial of 27-year-old musician, Mohbad, as a “tragic error and a huge mistake”.
The Herald learnt that Mohbad, whose real name is Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, was buried in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State today, barely 24 hours after his death.
Photos and videos of the artiste being buried flooded social media, with fans and other music lovers paying tribute to him.
However, Mohbad’s cause of death remains unclear.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ogunsanya said that the artiste’s remains ought not to have been buried before an autopsy is conducted to determine the cause of death.
According to him, not conducting an autopsy on Mohbad’s corpse could trigger “a lot of conspiracy theories, unverifiable claims of “spiritual attacks”, potentially unfair scapegoating of possibly innocent people as killers and perpetrators of his death among many other unfortunate eventualities that could have been easily prevented IF ONLY we had simply carried out an autopsy”.
Ogunsanya said, “A 27-year-old young healthy fit man has died unexpectedly, suddenly and in very suspicious circumstances; yet the next thing is to carry a shovel to bury him.
“NO medical autopsy done. NO comprehensive medical examination of the corpse done. NO investigations has been done to ensure no medical negligence, medical errors or even a crime/murder was committed.
“NOTHING was done to know why he died, how he died or what he died of.
“He has already hurriedly being buried. This is a tragic error and a huge mistake.”
He added that in a “sane society, when a young person dies suddenly, unexpectedly, and in clearly suspicious circumstances; especially when that person dies within 24 hours of being rushed to a hospital; it is mandatory and advised that an autopsy be done.”
The medical doctor noted that the body should NEVER be released for burial until and unless a medical autopsy has been done and concluded on the corpse.
“This is what the law says and this is what our practice should be,” the UK-based doctor said.
He stated, “And the reason for this is simple: When a young person dies unexpectedly and suddenly in very suspicious circumstances, the police (and the law agencies) needs to be notified and involved because it could be murder or medical negligence.
“What if this person was poisoned? What if this person was strangled? What if this person was murdered? What if this person was mismanaged at the hospital by the healthcare staff? What if this person died of a new rare infection that may spread and kill even more people?
“Or what if this person died of a previously undiagnosed unknown medical condition that may run in families? Do you see my point now? For the sake of the public good; For the sake of closure and clarity for the family, friends and well wishers; For the sake of direct immediate family members who may also be prone to the same medical condition to prevent sudden unexplained unexpected death in them as well; These reasons and many more above is exactly why the decision to do an autopsy should be a mandatory one at best, or an advisory one at worst; in any situation like this where a young person has died suddenly in an unexpected, unexplained and clearly suspicious circumstances.
“An autopsy should have been discussed with the family and impressed on them as to why this must be done- for their own good and also for the greater good of society (especially in a situation like this where some fingers are already being pointed at some people as being responsible for his death).
“Such an autopsy should have been mandated and done at zero costs to the family. It should have been carried out by a specialist pathologist who is an expert in post-mortem autopsies with all the costs borne by the govt (due to the public interest benefit of it – as it may prove/disprove murder and also as it may help medical care for the family members). This is why I will never blame the family- as this option may have not even been offered to them.
“It is sad and tragic that this right step of a mandatory autopsy is unfortunately NOT the direction that has been taken following Mohbad’s death.”