An aspiring law student who addressed MPs in parliament has had his conviction for being part of a violent conspiracy quashed after new evidence showing he was wrongfully identified in a drill music video.
Ademola Adedeji, 21, from Manchester, was among 10 black teenagers found guilty of using the Telegram messaging app to plan the murder or serious harm of individuals they believed were responsible for the death of their friend John Soyoye, an aspiring rapper.
The convictions drew significant controversy across the UK, with community groups condemning the sentences as racist and unfair, arguing that the young men’s immature messages were driven by grief and wrongfully used as evidence of violent intent. Seven of the young people went on to appeal against their convictions.
The court of appeal on Wednesday ruled Adedeji’s conviction for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent was unsafe due to new testimony from a witness.
Adedeji, who was described by his youth worker as “a truly exceptional young man”, was head boy at his school and had produced a book profiling inspiring young black people in Moston. He had an unconditional offer to study law at Birmingham University, received while on bail.
The court also reduced the sentences of Raymond Savi and Omolade Okoya, both 21, from eight years to four years and six months each, ruling that their original sentences were excessive. Both had been convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
Four others remain imprisoned. The convictions and sentencing of Harry Oni, Jeffrey Ojo and Brooklyn Jitoboh, all 21, for conspiracy to murder were upheld. The court also upheld the conviction of Martin Thomas Junior for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
The outcome was described as “bittersweet” by the youth organisation Kids of Colour, which had supported the young people and their families, and their legal team.
Roxy Legane, the director of Kids of Colour, said: “This case, like many, was unjust and racist. We don’t need the courts to determine that, we as a community know that, and always have.”
During the original trial the jury heard that a police officer had identified Adedeji in a drill music video. The footage showed a hooded young man wearing a blue bandana, which the prosecution claimed showed affiliation with the M40 gang. Adedeji had denied being in the video or in any gang.
Another person, Tyrone Numa, had since come forward to say it was him, not Adedeji, in the music video. This testimony undermined the prosecution’s case that Adedeji was affiliated to a gang and led to the conviction being overturned.
Other defendants had also denied being in a gang, insisting M40 was a drill music collective in which some of them rapped.
While the court of appeal upheld most of the convictions, it acknowledged the complexities of using gang-related evidence and the potential for it to be misinterpreted or unfairly applied.
Zachary Whyte, a solicitor at Sperrin Law, who represented Adedeji and some of the defendants, said he was overjoyed by the decision to quash Adedeji’s conviction. “The quashing of this conviction is a victory for the community and without the good people of Manchester coming together to push back against this miscarriage of justice we would not be here.”
However, Whyte added it was “painful” that there were several co-appellants who had not had their convictions overturned.
The sentencing had prompted a justice campaign, which led to more than 500 people offering mentoring, therapy and tutoring to those convicted.
Legane added: “We are so happy to know some are coming home, back where they should be. But I can’t say this is justice. For them, this is lost youth, and we’re going to have to work very hard to make sure they can thrive from here. And for the boys whose appeals were not successful, we are devastated. But we will not be leaving them or their families behind.”
Keir Monteith KC said: “The quashing of Ade’s conviction brings welcomed relief to Ade and his family, but he should never have been prosecuted for the 11 hastily texted messages on a group chat. We all say things we don’t mean, and this was the outpourings of anger from a 17-year-old lad who had just been told his 16-year-old mate had been murdered.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “This was a complex case where the evidence was carefully assessed for each individual in respect of each charge. The majority of the convictions were upheld. However, based on fresh evidence not available at the time of the trial, Ademola Adedeji’s conviction alone has today been quashed by the court of appeal. The court did not order a retrial. We respect the decision of the court.”
Source: theguardian.com
