Manchester youth leader jailed over ‘conspiracy’ texts denied permission to appeal

A youth leader who addressed MPs in parliament has been denied permission to appeal against the eight-year sentence he was given for sending text messages as part of a violent conspiracy.

Ademola Adedeji, 19, from Moston in north Manchester, was one of 10 young black men imprisoned this year after using the Telegram messaging app to conspire to murder or seriously harm those they believed responsible for killing one of their friends, an aspiring rapper called John Soyoye.

None of those named as targets in the Telegram chat were hurt, though three of the other defendants went on to violently attack two other boys using machetes and a car as a weapon.

After their convictions, Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central and shadow culture secretary, wrote to the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, to say the case was just the latest example of black youths in her constituency being unfairly drawn into a “gang” narrative because of the music they listen to and who they know.

Adedeji’s part in the conspiracy amounted to sending 11 out of the Telegram chat’s 345 messages. In one, he passed on the postcode of one of those they believed to be Soyoye’s killers – something he later described as “a moment of madness”, insisting he never intended for them to be hurt. In any case, they were not harmed.

Two other 19-year-olds convicted on the basis of their participation in the Telegram chat – Raymond Savi and Omolade Okoya – have also been refused permission to appeal against their sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Okoya’s request to appeal against his conviction was also turned down.

Savi, Okoya and Adedeji were each given eight-year sentences this summer after a judge ruled they had all played an “important role” in the conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

Their supporters argue they were found “guilty by association”.

Roxy Legane, the director of the campaign group Kids of Colour, said the prosecution had falsely attached a “gang” narrative to the case in order to sweep more young men into the conspiracy by presenting all 10 men in the dock as members of a criminal gang called M40, named after the Moston postcode.

The defendants all denied that M40 was a gang, but was instead a loose drill music collective. Soyoye had rapped under the M40 name before he was killed in November 2020, as did some of those on trial.

There was no evidence presented in court that Savi, Okoya or Adedeji were part of M40, beyond watching one or two of their music videos.

“The majority of defendants in this case never caused any harm, it is these sentences that are causing harm. Messages, music, grief and anger do not equate to intent,” said Legane.

She added: “As long as there is a political agenda to look ‘tough on crime’, young black people’s lives will be used to further that agenda.”

After he was convicted, Adedeji was described by his youth worker as “a truly exceptional young man”. He was head boy at his school and had produced a book profiling inspiring young black people in Moston. The book, called Something to Say, prompted his invitation to parliament in 2019, when he was 16. He had an unconditional offer to study law at Birmingham University, received while on bail.

Legane said he and the others had much contribute to society. She said: “The boys who had their appeals rejected took responsibility for their words in court, they could now be in their communities, learning, working, supporting their families, experiencing joy: instead, their lives are on hold in cages, and we are told they are inherently dangerous. They are not.”

The teenagers nowhave a limited amount of time to decide whether to appeal against the decision not to allow an appeal to proceed.