The case of mistaken identity after 'nine-second drill rap video' that saw teen wrongly sent to jail

A young man from Manchester jailed over an alleged gangland murder revenge plot is to be released from prison after senior judges quashed his 'unsafe' conviction.

Ademola Adedeji, 21, was convicted in part due to a 'false identification' by a police officer who incorrectly claimed he was a boy said to be wearing gang colours in a nine-second drill rap video, a Court of Appeal judgement has ruled. His lawyers told the hearing his prosecution played on 'racial stereotypes'.

Ademola Adedeji was 17 when he was alleged to have become involved in plotting revenge attacks over the murder of his best friend John Soyoye, who went to the same church. In 2022, following a trial, he and five others were convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

Mr Soyoye, an aspiring rapper also known as MD or Morsley, was regarded as the 'leader' of the Moston based M40 gang, the trial heard. He was stabbed to death on November 5, 2020, by members of their rivals, the Rochdale and Oldham based outfit Representing the Danger (RTD).

Revenge attacks were meticulously planned in group chats on Telegram over three months, according to the prosecution. Members of the group were handed lengthy sentences in July 2022 following a trial.

Four defendants were found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to commit murder and another six - among them Adedeji - were found guilty of a conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent. Before the prosecution, Adedeji, who had no previous convictions, had an offer to study law at university and had addressed MPs at the Houses of Parliament.

Mr Adedeji, of Beehive Road, Bolton, was sentenced to eight years for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent in a young offenders institution.

Keir