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Key witness in gang murder suffers acid attack
Paul Cheston15 May 2009
A witness who gave evidence against four thugs who killed teenager Sunday Essiet has had his face scarred by an acid attack.
The thugs were jailed for life today and handed minimum terms of between 13 and 16 years.
After they were led to the cells Edward Brown QC prosecuting told the court of the attack on the witness who had been granted anonymity and gave evidence from behind a screen.
A clearly shocked Judge Timothy Pontius said: "Whatever measures the court can apply sometimes, I fear, they are not sufficient.
"This witness has the court's sympathy and its thanks for having the courage to come to court and give evidence about what he had seen."
Sunday was just 15 when he was knifed nine times in the back and kicked "like a football" as he begged for mercy in February last year.
His mother died soon after he had been brought to Britain for a better life following the death of his father in Nigeria.
He appears to have been a victim of a turf war between a Somali gang dealing crack and heroin in the area and the T-Block gang from Thamesmead.
The murder was carried out just after 4pm when Sunday was killed after being chased until cornered by a wall on an estate in Plumstead.
Adeniyi Oloyede, 19 - known as Knifer - was sentenced to a minimum of 13 years, Miles Maddy, both of Thamesmead, to at least 15 years, Sikiru Doherty, 20 of Woolwich, and Ifedotun Gbadebo-Araoye, 19 of Charlton, both received a minimum of 16 years.
Oloyede and Maddy were both under community and supervision orders having been convicted of affray when they carried out the murder.
Gbadebo-Araoye was also found guilty of the knifepoint robbery of a chain and was sentenced to a concurrent term of seven years.
During the trial witnesses told how Sunday screamed in terror and begged his killers to spare him.
Judge Pontius described the murder as "savage, merciless and unrelenting."
Friends remember Sunday, who was studying GCSEs at a technology college in Southwark, as a happy football loving Manchester United supporter.
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. he was funny, alays cracking jokes."
Despite their relatively young ages, all the defendants have previous convictions, cautions or reprimands for related violence, including possession of a bladed article, common assault, robbery and affray.
Reader views (11)
anyone caught making or selling crack,no exuses 15years and no chance of parole
- Ras J, tonbridge,kent, 16/05/2009 21:23
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Our country and legal system is a joke, you can see why people take the law into their own hands !!
Send these animnals back to Somalia, rather then allowing them to live a relatively comfortable lift in the UK !! Animals
- Joe, Kingston, 16/05/2009 11:04
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Personally if some one did this to my son, I would probably arrange a much better sentence for them, but as this young man is an orphan, I think that the other prisoners should deal with them on arrival. There is no excuse, so lets deal with these things the old fashioned way as the government is not doing a good job (as we can all see they are criminals themselves). First Empower the parents again and also give the young youth centers with activities that keep them very busy and use their energies positively, and if they go out of line you give them a severe punishment the first time round, not wait until they commit more serious crimes. Enough is Enough.
- Angel, London Lewisham, 16/05/2009 10:14
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"...he had been brought to Britain for a better life following the death of his father in Nigeria."
Excuse me? Is simply "wanting a better life" now sufficient for being granted residence in the UK? If so, how do our "representatives" in Westminster plan to accommodate the next fifty or hundred million form the Third World?
And if he had stayed in his own country (ditto Damilola Taylor and Victoria Climbie), chances are he'd still be alive.
- Croyboy, Croydon, 16/05/2009 08:48
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Very sad. It is the age to attend the school and for the betterment of the life. But they involve in easy money business and these gang are dealing crack, heroin all over the England. Commonly use in the educational institutions.
Obviously there will be same result. Sever punishment should be awarded. Tit for tat, not only the life imprisonment.
"Sunday was just 15 when he was knifed nine times in the back and kicked "like a football" as he begged for mercy in February last year". Very inhuman behavious.
There should be no mercy for Sunday. As you sow, so shall you reap.
- Ma Sular, London, 16/05/2009 06:27
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Could someone explain why we have gangs of Nigerians and Somalians killing each other on the streets of London.
They bring the mindset of Africa to london and should be deported back there as soon as possible.
- John, Brixton UK, 16/05/2009 06:07
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Just WHY is a "life" sentence 12 or 15 years? that type of murder over here can easily draw 35 years to no parole. there is a lesson here for the courts. However they are probably way too liberal to offend these thugs with harsh time.
- John Brit Expat, Phoenix USA, 15/05/2009 23:05
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If he is hidden, how did the attackers know it was him? Obviously the PC did a terrible job keeping their witness a secret? I feel sorry for him. Others who witness crimes will be relectant to testify to what they have seen
- Denise, Louisville, SA, 15/05/2009 21:49
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There are people who do the right thing without getting their name or face splashed all over the papers.
The witness in this case is one such person. I salute their bravery.
- Ian Gilbertson, Newcastle, 15/05/2009 17:12
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I guess scum is too good a word to use, but its printable. Why does 'Life' only mean 1/3rd of a normal life, when the victim has lost 100 percent. Cause and effect its the only way... you kill someone and if you are caught, you get killed. Simple and something everyone can understand. Bring back an eye for an eye.
- Bondy, london, 15/05/2009 16:58
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"Gbadebo-Araoye was also found guilty of the knifepoint robbery of a chain and was sentenced to a concurrent term of seven years."
Why are these sentences, for two completely different crimes, running concurrently? They are separate crimes and should be punished as such. So in this instance, given that one sentence is longer than the other, he is essentially only serving time for the murder and not for the robbery. What a joke!
- Dave, London, 15/05/2009 16:51
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