UK jails Yoruba nationalist Adeyinka Grandson four years for instigating violence against Igbo

Adeyinka Grandson

A court in the United Kingdom has sentenced a Nigerian based in West London, Adeyinka Shoyemi of Powis Terrace in Notting Hill, to four-and-a-half years imprisonment for inciting racial hatred with inflammatory messages encouraging violence in Nigeria.

Shoyemi, popularly known as Adeyinka Grandson, was first arrested in August 2019 by the Scotland Yard Counter Terrorism Command, London, and the Metropolitan Police under the approval of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.

The president of the Young Yoruba for Freedom (YYF) had called for the killing of the Igbo people residing in Yoruba land for not voting candidates which top south-west politicians wanted in the 2019 general elections.

According to UK-based Evening Standard on Friday, law enforcement agents assessed messages posted on social media by accounts under the name ‘Adeyinka Grandson’ which were found to be encouraging attacks against certain ethnic groups, especially the Igbo.

Grandson was initially charged with six counts of inciting racial hatred and he was released on bail with a condition not to post any more social media posts which were threatening, abusive or insulting to any ethnic groups.

But he was later rearrested after he flouted his bail conditions to make more of the posts. Consequently two more inciting racial hatred charges were added.

The Nigerian was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ behind bars on Thursday.

He was found guilty on November 30 of eight counts of inciting racial hatred after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.