The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of Ademola Adedeji for conspiracy to commit GBH with intent and ordered there be no re-trial. Oliver Mosley acted pro-bono for the interveners JUSTICE.
Ademola Adedeji was jailed for 8 years in 2022 alongside ten others convicted of offences including conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit GBH with intent. His case was covered by the media and was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary following the intervention of Lucy Powell MP.
The evidence against Mr Adedeji was limited to his involvement in a group Telegram chat with his co-defendants and an alleged association with ‘M40', a street gang in Manchester involved in a violent rivalry with the victim. A Police Officer identified Mr Adedeji in a 9-second drill music clip, which tied him to the M40 but Mr Adedeji denied the identification and any involvement with M40.
The Court of Appeal has found that the identification, and therefore the only link with M40, was incorrect. This followed their admission of fresh evidence which the Court accepted disproved the identification.
JUSTICE was granted permission to intervene and file written submissions relating to Mr Adedeji’s appeal. This included research on the dangers of drill evidence, race bias in video identification evidence, and the necessity for proper expert evidence in gang affiliation cases.
Oliver Mosley acted pro-bono for JUSTICE instructed by Clifford Chance, led by Dr Tunde Okewale OBE (Doughty Street Chambers). Mr Adedeji was represented by Keir Monteith KC and Audrey Mogan (Garden Court Chambers), instructed by Sperrin Law Solicitors.
Full judgement available here.
Oliver Mosley