Mother of man shot dead says he 'feared being targeted' ten years after stopping attempted gang rape

25 October 2019, 08:48

The mother of a man shot dead last year has told how he feared being targeted after he stopped a gang rape as she renewed her appeal for information about his killing.

Abraham Badru, 26, was shot outside his home in Hackney, east London, in March 2018, and his killer has not been found.

As she renewed her appeal for help, mum Ronke Badru said her son would still hide his face more than ten years after he was given a police bravery award for rescuing a girl from an attempted knife-point sex attack.

Mr Badru was just 14 in 2007 when he witnessed the incident and he subsequently gave evidence in court, where nine people were convicted, including one who was jailed for life.

At the time he was threatened by the culprits and his home was pelted with eggs.

To escape the initial threats, Mr Badru went to the south-west of England to study for A Levels and a degree, returning to London in 2016 and calling himself "Prince" in an attempt to hide his identity.

Mrs Badru, who lived with her son until his death, said: "He was wearing caps to cover his face and any time he wanted to go out I would have to go out and check if there was anyone in the compound or in the garden and then he would go."

His mother said she found it "difficult" watching him hide away and added that she felt she did not have power and wished she had the money to get him a house in a safer area.

Mrs Badru continued: "Every day I cry, I try to put up a brave face to people but inside me I'm pained.

"I know what I am going through inside me but to people I just try put on a brave face that everything is normal but it is not normal because Abraham is my only child. I have no other child."

Police are still investigating the motive for Mr Badru's death, with one line of inquiry being the death threats sent by members of the gang and another being the string of relationships he had with different women.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh who is leading the case said the silence "is not going to stop the case from progressing, because we're trying to get justice for Abraham and his family".

"It is astonishing there are people out there who clearly know exactly what happened to Abraham that night on the 25th of March. They know who is responsible; they know where the gun is and they know why Abraham was shot," he said.

On the day he died, Mr Badru had been shopping, before collecting a takeaway and seeing his father and step-sister.

He then visited a woman between 10.20pm and 10.40pm before driving home. During the journey he was on the phone to a second woman for 44 minutes, and was still on the call at 11.11pm when he was shot.

Mr Badru had changed his plans at the last minute and detectives are trying to find out who would have known where he would be at the time he died.

An 18-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in November and released under investigation.