FOUR thugs were convicted at the Old Bailey today of stabbing a 15-year-old orphan to death as he begged for mercy.

Sunday Essiet was knifed nine times in the back and kicked “like a football” in February last year.

His mother had died soon after he was brought to Britain for a better life following the death of his father in Nigeria.

Sunday was killed after being chased until cornered near a wall on the Glyndon Estate in Plumstead. He appears to have been the victim of a turf war between a Somali gang dealing crack cocaine and heroin in the area and the T-Block gang from Thamesmead.

Adeniyi Oloyede — known as Knifer — and Miles Maddy, both 19 of Thamesmead, Sikiru Doherty, 20, of Woolwich, and Ifedotun Gbadebo-Araoye, 19, of Charlton, all pleaded not guilty but were convicted of murder by a jury.

Oloyede and Maddy were both under community and supervision orders at the time of the murder, having been convicted of affray. Gbadebo-Araoye was also found guilty of robbery. They will be sentenced later by Judge Timothy Pontius.

During the trial witnesses described how Sunday screamed in terror and pleaded to be spared.
Resident Mark Gilbery, who gave evidence from behind a screen so he could not be seen from the dock, told the court: “The man who got stabbed kind of slipped down the wall to his knees and they started to kick him and that.”

Mr Gilbery said he went to help Sunday but added: “Then I saw the man with the green jacket pull out a knife so I just froze where I was. He pulled out this knife and just started stabbing him in the back. I just really couldn't believe what I was seeing.”

Mr Gilbery said: “He was begging them to stop but they were having none of it.” Another resident, Daniel Desouza, was out walking when he saw four youths following another four across the green of the estate. Suddenly one of the following group told the others: “Go, get him.”

Mr Desouza said Sunday began running and tried to follow his friend over some railings, but “he just couldn't get himself over those railings. Just as he got himself on to the floor, three of the four that had been following chased up behind him.”

He saw Sunday being struck in both shoulders and the stomach and “that's when I realised they weren't punching him — that's when I realised he was being stabbed — they gave him no time, no chance to defend himself.”

Sunday was studying for his GCSEs at a technology college in Southwark. His friend Abu Mansaray, 18, said: “He was struggling, struggling all his life — coming here from Nigeria at primary school age for a better life.

“But he was a happy boy and loved football. When he was around everyone was happy.”

All the defendants have previous convictions,
cautions or reprimands for violence, including possession of a bladed article, robbery and affray.

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