Nigerian Student in UK Sentenced for Robbery and Blackmail

A 19-year-old Nigerian student in the UK, Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, and another man have been sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison. They were found guilty of robbery and blackmail where victims were attacked, humiliated, and filmed for social media.

According to the BBC, Akinrinola, who lives in Slippers Place, London, received a seven-year sentence on Monday at Leicester Crown Court. His accomplice, 20-year-old Richile Vangu, got an 11-year sentence along with an extra three years on licence.

The court heard about their planned attack on people at a party in North Kilworth, Leicestershire, on November 21, 2025. Prosecutors said they threatened victims with a knife, stole their designer items, and forced them to dance for TikTok while recording.

Vangu, who called himself "Trixta," demanded that each victim send him £1,000. He threatened to stab anyone who refused. Judge Steven Evans said Vangu planned the robbery and got Akinrinola to help him.

The judge stated that Akinrinola was "subservient" to Vangu but still played "an essential part" in the crimes. The court heard that at least eight men were locked in a bedroom during the attack. They were threatened with a large "zombie-style knife" while their belongings were taken.

After the party, some of the victims were taken to student housing in Bath Lane, Leicester, where more attacks happened. Akinrinola forced some victims to do physical exercises like star jumps and high knees and punched them repeatedly.

Vangu was also accused of hitting victims with a belt, shooting them with a BB gun, waxing their faces, and threatening to cut off their dreadlocks if they did not pay him. The judge called these actions "torture" and humiliation, stating that Vangu showed a "complete absence of empathy" for the victims.

Vangu later posted videos from the incidents on TikTok, which were used as evidence during the trial. He was found guilty of four counts of robbery, 10 counts of blackmail, and one count of actual bodily harm.

Akinrinola was found guilty of nine counts of blackmail, four counts of robbery, and two counts of actual bodily harm, but he was cleared of one count of blackmail. Two other men arrested in connection with the incident, Benjamin Osadolor, 19, from Northampton, and Ayomide Ibraheem, 19, from London, were found not guilty of all charges.

PUNCH Online earlier reported that Akinrinola’s parents appealed to British authorities to review their son’s conviction. They insisted he was wrongly convicted and not involved in the crimes.

In a statement before sentencing, Aderinkola Akinrinola and Olayinka Akinrinola argued that their son’s conviction relied mainly on circumstantial evidence and his connection to Vangu. They said Akinrinola only met Vangu after starting at Leicester University in September 2025 and described them as just acquaintances.

“Our son is innocent of the charges against him. The police say he is guilty just because he knows the main suspect,” the parents stated. They claimed Akinrinola went to the party but did not take part in the robbery or gain from it.

They mentioned that some victims testified during the trial, saying their son was not among those who robbed them. The family also noted that no stolen items were found in his home, and investigators found no evidence of money transfers from victims to his accounts.

They further said that CCTV footage only showed him arriving at the party venue and did not put him at the robbery scene. The parents said their son contacted the police after seeing videos connecting him to the incident and called for a review of the case.

But after the trial, the court convicted Akinrinola and sentenced him along with Vangu for their roles in the crimes.