Two jailed for stabbing Nigeria’s Abiola to death in London

Two men, Rayhan Yasin Ali and Junaid Sulaiman were on Thursday jailed for stabbing a Nigerian, Abiola Akerele to death in East London.

Ali, 20 and Sulaiman, 22 of Prince Regent Lane, Newham, East London were jailed for manslaughter.

Their case were concluded on 19 July, 2022 but were sentenced on Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Two men who were involved in a fatal attack on a man have been jailed.

Sulaiman was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extended licence period of two years, while Ali was sentenced to four years in a young offenders’ institution, with an extended licence period of two years.

According to the Metropolitan Police, Abiola’s mother Abimbola Akerele, said her son did not deserve what happened to him.

“I want you (the defendants) to know the consequences of your actions that day, you have altered my life, all our lives. You have caused us so much pain and sorrow.

“The day you took Abi’s life, you took a huge part of mine and you took five others. Myself, his dad, and his three brothers. Words cannot describe how your actions on that faithful day have impacted us. You have cut us deep,” she lamented.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams, who led the investigation, said Sulaiman and Ali would now spend a long period of their young, adult lives in prison.

He said while this in no way could compensate Abiola’s family and friends for their loss, he did hope it gave them some sense that justice had been served.

Whellams stated that the death of Abiola Akerele was another example of the futility of carrying knives and the disastrous consequences of what could happen when violence escalated.

According to the police, court heard Ali and Sulaiman had met on the 29 December 2020 with the intent of meeting 28-year-old Abiola Akerele at his address in Stondon Walk, East Ham.

Shortly after 15:00hrs, one of the defendants phoned Abiola and arranged to attend his address. A short while later, the defendants arrived and Abiola went outside. Once outside, an altercation occurred which led to a knife being produced.

In the ensuing fight, Abiola was overpowered and subjected to a savage attack in which he was stabbed.

After the attack, the suspects fled the scene on foot while Abiola was helped back inside his house. Despite the best efforts of paramedics who had been called to the scene, Abiola died around an hour after the attack.

Detectives launched an investigation and immediately began to piece together the events of that afternoon.

CCTV analysis proved key – while it didn’t capture the fatal incident, it showed the suspects arriving at, and fleeing the scene.

Detectives identified the suspects and made arrests and phone examination further revealed their movements.

Officers recovered various items of clothing from the suspects that matched those worn by the attackers. Abiola’s blood was also found on a trainer and jogging bottoms seized from Ali.