Man From West London Sentenced To Jail For Inciting Racial Hatred In Nigeria

Man From West London Sentenced To Jail For Inciting Racial Hatred In Nigeria

Adeyinka Shoyemi’s postings in Nigeria advocated violence on various ethnic groups.

A man from west London was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for inciting racial hate with provocative texts promoting violence in Nigeria.

Adeyinka Shoyemi, 45, of Powis Terrace in Notting Hill, was originally brought to the notice of counter-terrorism officers in March 2019 when members of the public alerted them to posters in Nigeria targeting specific ethnic groups.

A specialised gang of police in the Met’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit reviewed the communications, which were submitted by accounts under the name ‘Adeyinka Grandson’ (CTIRU).

They discovered the posts, which included commentary urging attacks against certain ethnic groups, were potentially illegal and initiated an investigation.

Officers searched three properties linked to him and seized different digital gadgets when he was first arrested in August 2019 at his home address.

Shoyemi was charged with six charges of inciting racial hate and released on bond with the condition that he not make any more social media messages that were threatening, abusive, or derogatory to any ethnic groups.

He was later re-arrested after breaking his bail restrictions in order to create further posts.

As a result, two further accusations of inciting racial hatred were added.

On Thursday, Shoyemi was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

After a trial at Southwark Crown Court, he was found guilty of eight counts of inciting racial hate on November 30.

“Our Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit – the first of its type to be established anywhere in the world – was vital in identifying Shoyemi and his behavior,” said Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

“Over the last ten years, the CTIRU has been at the forefront of getting harmful content removed from the internet, and detecting and investigating potential terrorist-related activity online.

“We continue to need the help and support of the public and I would encourage anyone who comes across material or posts that could be related to terrorism or violent extremist activity to report it to us, so that our specialist officers can take action where necessary.”