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A UK court has sentenced Nigerian national Lekan Akinsoji and his accomplice Sundjata Keita, both aged 27 and residents of Forest Gate, to life imprisonment for the murder of 21-year-old Ahmed Deen-Jah in east London.

Akinsoji, who is also known as a drill rapper, was ordered to serve a minimum of 28 years, while Keita will serve at least 22 years before being eligible for parole. The sentencing followed their conviction at the Old Bailey for a fatal gang-related stabbing that occurred on 2 April 2017.

According to court proceedings, the two men, dressed in black with balaclavas and gloves, launched a planned gang “ride-out” before pursuing Deen-Jah into an off-licence shop near Custom House Station, where Akinsoji fatally stabbed him in the heart.

The victim, popularly known by his street name Grinna, was pronounced dead at the scene—just metres from his home.

Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC told the court that the killing was a “deliberate and targeted act of retaliation”, carried out against the backdrop of ongoing street violence between rival gangs in east London.