UK Court Sentences Adeyinka Shoyemi ‘Adeyinka Grandson’ to Four and Half Years in Prison

A Southwark Crown Court, London on Friday, sentenced Adeyinka Shoyemi, 45, to 4.5 years imprisonment for inciting racial hatred through his social media posts thereby encouraging violence in Nigeria against Igbos.

By the name “Adeyinka Grandson”, he had in a video broadcast in 2019 issued the following warning: “This is a warning to the Igbo people living in Yoruba land, we are giving you a 48 hours ultimatum from Friday 23 of October to 25 October, to leave Yorubaland. From Monday, we will close the road and every Igbo in Yoruba land will be dealt with.”

According to London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Shoyemi’s action were reported to authorities via the online reporting tool www.gov.uk/ACT.

“The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation in March 2019 as a direct result of members of the public raising concerns to police about online social media posts which contained comments aimed at particular ethnic groups based in Nigeria.

“This material was assessed by specialist officers within the Met’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). After assessing the posts, which contained commentary encouraging attacks against certain ethnic groups in Nigeria, officers determined these posts were potentially in breach of UK legislation and a formal investigation was launched,” the police said in a statement on Friday.

The police said that Shoyemi was first arrested in August 2019 at his home address and subsequently released on bail while his devices were seized and probed.

He was arraigned in May 2020 on six counts charges bordering on inciting racial hatred.

The court granted him bail with some stringent conditions including that he must not use his devices to incite again.

The London police said “However, in October 2020, he was rearrested by officers after he made further offending social media posts whilst on bail. Two further charges were added as a result.

At the conclusion of trial , he was found guilty on 30 November 2021 of eight counts of inciting racial hatred.