UK-Based Nigerian Student Jailed for Robbery, Blackmail
- A Leicester Crown Court sentenced 19-year-old Nigerian student Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola to 7 years in prison on Monday
- Akinrinola and co-defendant Richile Vangu faced charges tied to a robbery and blackmail plot targeting partygoers in Leicestershire
- Akinrinola's parents publicly contested his conviction before sentencing, claiming he was wrongly implicated by association
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A Nigerian student studying in the United Kingdom, Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, has been sentenced to seven years in prison after a court found him guilty of robbery and blackmail offences carried out against partygoers in Leicestershire.
The 19-year-old Akinrinola of Slippers Place, London, was sentenced on Monday, July 27, 2026, at Leicester Crown Court alongside 20-year-old Richile Vangu, who received an 11-year jail term plus a three-year extended licence period.
Source: Twitter
As reported by The Punch, together, the two men were handed a combined 18-year sentence.
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How the attack unfolded
The court heard that on November 21, 2025, the pair took part in a planned assault on guests at a party in North Kilworth, Leicestershire.
At least eight men were forced into a bedroom at knifepoint, where they were robbed of designer items while a large "zombie-style knife" was brandished at them.
Vangu, who went by the name "Trixta", demanded that each victim transfer £1,000 and threatened to stab anyone who refused.
The victims were also made to perform a dance that was recorded and shared on TikTok.
After the party, prosecutors said some victims were taken to student accommodation on Bath Lane, Leicester, where further abuse took place. Akinrinola was said to have forced victims to do physical exercises such as star jumps and high knees before punching them repeatedly.
Vangu was accused of whipping victims with a belt, firing a BB gun at them, waxing their faces, and threatening to cut off their dreadlocks.
Judge Steven Evans described the conduct as "torture" and said Vangu displayed a "complete absence of empathy."
The judge also said that while Akinrinola was "subservient" to Vangu, he played "an essential part" in the offences. Vangu later uploaded videos from the incidents to TikTok, and that footage was used as evidence in the trial.
Vangu was convicted of four counts of robbery, 10 counts of blackmail, and one count of actual bodily harm.
Akinrinola was convicted of four counts of robbery, nine counts of blackmail, and two counts of actual bodily harm, and was acquitted on one blackmail count.
Two other men, Benjamin Osadolor, 19, of Northampton, and Ayomide Ibraheem, 19, of London, were found not guilty of all charges.
Family disputes conviction
Before sentencing, Akinrinola's parents, Aderinkola and Olayinka Akinrinola, issued a public statement disputing their son's guilt.
They argued that his conviction relied heavily on circumstantial evidence and his connection to Vangu, whom they said he only met after enrolling at Leicester University in September 2025.
"Our son is innocent of the charges against him. The police argument against him is that he is guilty by association with the prime suspect."
The family claimed no stolen goods were recovered from his home, no money transfers from victims were traced to his accounts, and that CCTV footage only showed him arriving at the venue rather than participating in the robbery.
They said their son voluntarily approached police after seeing footage linking him to the incident.
The court proceeded to convict and sentence him regardless.
Source: Legit.ng
