Two men get 24 years in prison for killing Nigerian in UK

Two men have been sentenced to a total of 24 years and five months in prison for their part in a deadly car crash that killed Sylvester Abayomi, a UK-based Nigerian, in Manchester.

The men, Uways Hussain, 20, and Usmon Mahmood, 23, were found guilty over the March 2026 accident on Kingsway, Manchester, which led to Abayomi’s death.

PUNCH Metro obtained a statement from Greater Manchester Police on Monday. It revealed that Hussain received a sentence of 11 years and eight months, while Mahmood was sentenced to 12 years and nine months.

The statement noted that Mahmood’s conviction may be one of the first in the UK where a passenger was found guilty of helping cause death by dangerous driving.

According to GMP, investigations showed that the two spent the night before the crash driving recklessly around South Manchester, recording themselves driving at high speeds.

The police said the vehicle used in the crash belonged to Mahmood, who let Hussain drive it all night. They added that recovered mobile phone footage showed them driving over 100mph on roads with a 30mph speed limit.

GMP said the footage also showed them running red lights and weaving through traffic without caring for other road users' safety.

The statement said, "The sentences follow a night of dangerous driving, during which the pair filmed themselves consistently travelling at speeds of over 100mph on 30mph roads.

"In several cases, the pair reached speeds over 130mph, and seconds before impact, they were recorded at 139mph. At one point, they stopped at a petrol station, where footage shows Mahmood inhaling from a balloon while sitting in the passenger seat.

"Further footage shows Mahmood in the passenger seat inhaling from a balloon while Hussain drove over 100mph. He also appeared to be inhaling from a balloon."

The fatal crash happened around 4:36 am in March 2026 at the junction of Green End Road and Kingsway.

Abayomi was reportedly on his way to work and entered the junction on a green light when a speeding Volkswagen Golf driven by Hussain ran a red light and struck him.

The police said, "Sylvester was on his way to work and entered the junction on a green light, believing it was safe to proceed.

"He was then struck by a Volkswagen Golf driven by Hussain, which had travelled through a red light at extremely high speed."

Following the crash, emergency responders rushed to help, but Abayomi died from his injuries. The police said that right after the accident, the two discussed how to escape and hide evidence.

GMP said an automatic crash alert from an Apple Watch worn by Hussain recorded their conversations just after the crash.

"During this alert, both men could be heard talking about fleeing the scene and deciding what evidence to remove from the vehicle.

"They were also heard planning to report the vehicle as stolen. Shortly after, they called an Uber to leave the scene," the statement added.

GMP noted that officers acted quickly and arrested both men within 12 minutes of the first emergency call.

"We got our first report at 4:37 am and within 12 minutes, the pair had been found, caught and arrested by officers.

"Vehicle data later recovered from the Volkswagen Golf showed that the car reached a speed of 139mph just before the fatal crash," the police concluded.