The legal dispute over the paternity of Liam Aloba, son of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as the singer's father, Mr. Joseph Aloba, flatly rejected a court ruling to appoint an independent laboratory for the DNA examination.

During the proceedings at the Magistrate Court sitting in Lagos, it was revealed that the facilities previously suggested by the welfare officer and the singer's widow, Wunmi, lack the capacity to conduct specialised tissue-based or post-mortem DNA testing.

In a bid to ensure neutrality and forestall allegations of bias, the court ruled that it would appoint a "secret" independent laboratory, unknown to all parties, to carry out the test.

LEADERSHIP reports that Mr. Aloba immediately objected to the ruling, citing a lack of transparency. Expressing fears of a compromised process, he referenced the recent toxicology report conducted on his late son, which was declared "inconclusive" by authorities.

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"I will not accept the outcome of a test conducted by a lab unknown to me," the grieving father insisted. He further demanded the right to engage his own private pathologist to conduct a parallel independent DNA test alongside the court-appointed facility.

Counsel to Mr. Aloba informed the court that fairness must be maintained, arguing that since the widow had allegedly conducted a private DNA test without making the results public, the father should equally be granted the opportunity to carry out his own analysis.

It would be recalled that the death of Mohbad in September 2023 sparked a global outcry for justice, with the paternity of his son becoming a central point of contention between his father and his widow.

The court has yet to rule on Mr. Aloba's demand for a parallel test.