UK sentences Nigerian to jail for murder

A 39-year-old Nigerian, Adebayo Ekun, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in London over the murder of 18-year-old Marcus Hall in 2001.

Ekun was said to be part of a gang that beat and stabbed Hall to death 14 years ago, leaving him dying in the street, according to a report by the Daily Mirror UK.

After committing the murder, Ekun was said to have fled to Nigeria in an attempt to evade arrest.

The report said five people out of the gang were convicted for the murder, but Ekun avoided arrest and fled the United Kingdom, after he was identified in a Closed-Circuit Television footage of the attack, which took place outside the Atmosphere nightclub in Luton, London because of a distinctive checked coat he was wearing.

It was said that detectives went to a designer clothes store in London where it was discovered that the jacket was one of only nine sold in the UK – and Ekun was listed as one of the buyers.

When the police raided his London home, he had already left the country.

However, the 39-year-old was eventually located and arrested in Nigeria in February, 2015 and he was extradited back to the UK.

He admitted to the killing at Luton Crown Court on Friday and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 10 years.

A detective sergeant, who was one of those who hunted Ekun, Mark Devine, said the ruling had proved that no criminal could evade justice in the country.

He said, “The conviction of Adebayo Ekun today highlights the fact that if you commit, or are involved in serious crime such as this, then there is literally no place to hide. Despite the passing of 14 years, Bedfordshire Police has continued the hunt for the final outstanding offender to this vicious and brutal murder.”