Nigerian Okusanya and Idiabeta jailed for life for London gang killing

From Left: Idiabeta and Okusanya

Kwame Ofosu-Asare,17, a business administration student from Ghana was hunted down and killed for being ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’. He was stabbed 14 times by Nelson Idiabeta, then 17, and Nathaniel Okusanya, then 18.

He was mistaken for a rival in a ‘poisonous and senseless’ gang war, a court heard today as Idiabeta and Nigerian born Okusanya and Idiabeta were jailed for life.

The murderous pair were members of the TN1 gang [Trust No One] out to avenge one of their members who was stabbed by a rival gang member from the GAS gang [Guns and Shanks] few hours earlier.

Okusanya and Idiabeta were touring housing estates in Brixton looking out for rival gang members and came upon Kwame a 17-year-old son of a sports broadcast journalist and his friend, who incidentally are no gang members. They were returning home from a session at a recording studio when they ran into and  were confronted by Okusanya and Idiabeta in the Moorlands Estate ,Brixton.

Kwame-Ofosu

Kwame and his friend with a ‘sixth sense’ ran away into a cul de sac where his friend’s aunt lived in a desperate attempt to get to safety, away from their hunters but she was not at home- they met a shut door Kwame’s friend jumped over a wall but Kwame was trapped and then killed on the 2nd of Marchof this year.

He identified himself shouting out that he was from Catford. He told them ‘I’m not from round here, I’m not from round here’ but he was murdered by the pair. They had moments before then persuaded a shopper to buy them a kitchen knife.

An Old Bailey jury found the pair guilty .Nathaniel Okusanya, 19, was jailed for 20 years. Nelson Idiabeta, 18 was jailed 19 years.

Judge Richard Marks QC while sentencing the pair said:”I am entirely satisfied having heard the evidence. The background to this terrible offense is to be found in revenge between two gangs.”

‘Around 1.15pm Garfield Stewart a member of TN1 gang was stabbed 28 times while sat in a bus while it was stationary at West Norwood.

‘It’s clear from the evidence a very short time from that stabbing you found out about it and decided this stabbing needed to be avenged.

‘Your purpose was to carry out an attack on a” GAS” gang member and anyone you believed to be so.

You encountered two boys Kwame and his friend by reason of they only being on the Moreland Estate.

‘You believed them to be” GAS “gang members, they were not and have no connection whatsoever with this gang.’

The judge continued” Kwame’s friend managed to escape but Kwame was not so fortunate”.

“He was heard to shout “I’m from Catford” saying to you he was in effect not from around there and had no reason to be chased. It was to no avail”.

“He was violently attacked suffering 14 stab wounds, three of which penetrated his lungs and one his liver.

It would have been abundantly obvious to you he was gravely injured but you ran off thinking only of your escape”.

“It was Kwame’s misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time”

Judge Marks said Idiabeta, who was on bail at the time for robbery, and Okusanya ‘have shown no an iota of remorse.’

Prosecuting counsel Crispin Aylett QC, told jurors that “Kwame’s death was but a part of a poisonous and senseless feud” among youth gangs in South London.

He was in the sixth-form of Forest Hill School and had moved from Ghana to London in 2002.He was an excellent sports man, a budding musician and actor according to family and friends.

Garfield Stewart whose stabbing prompted the murder had been wearing a T-shirt which bore the slogan ‘RIP Little Zac’ – a reference to Zac Olumegbon murdered in July 2011.

Okusanya had worn a similar t-shirt in a You Tube video posted online which was entitled “Death Keeps Calling” and paid homage to Olumegbon.

Jurors heard Okusanya was close friends with Zac Olumegbon and starred in ‘Death Keeps Calling.’

When police searched his home they found photos of three other murder victims – Abukar Mahamood, who was shot dead aged 16 in 2007; Sadiq Adebeyi, 25, who was shot dead in May 2011; and Nana Darko-Frimpong, 16, who was shot dead in June 2011.

Okusanya told police they were all his friends. He reportedly told police “Stabbings happen everywhere… it’s how life is now. Everyone gets stabbed, everyone gets shot. Everyone dies, everyone goes to jail, that’s how life is. In a typical black area, people get stabbed, people get shot, people die.”