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The Metropolitan Police has paused its investigation into the murder of a man who helped convict a gang of rapists when he was just 14, telling his family that the decision was due to a lack of resources.
Abraham Badru, 26, was shot dead outside his home in Hackney, east London, in March 2018.
Eight years on, no suspects have been identified and the Met has told his parents that 'no active investigative steps are being undertaken at present'.
A senior detective told the family: 'This is primarily due to resourcing pressures.
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This → see → pressures
As has been widely reported, officer numbers within the homicide command have been reduced on several occasions over recent years.
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numbers → report → years
The decision has prompted anger from Badru's father, Enitan, who accused the force of abandoning his son's case.
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who → prompt → case
He told the Times: 'They called it a legacy case but it has only become a legacy because they didn't solve it.
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they → tell → it
My son sacrificed everything to help them, to do what was right.
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what → sacrifice → them
Without him they wouldn't have been able to convict and those monsters would have gone free.
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monsters → convict → him
They gave my son a bravery award but when he is assassinated outside his home they cannot do anything about it.
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they → give → it
Of course these rapists would have had alibis because they would have known they would be in the frame.
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they → have → frame
To give up like this is such a betrayal.'
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give → give → this
Sports science graduate Abraham Badru, 26, was gunned down in March 2018 and his killer was never found
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killer → gun → March
Ronke Badru, the mother of Abraham Badru, holding a picture of her son and the bravery award that he received in 2009 for helping a rape victim
Badru was 14 when he intervened to rescue a girl from an attempted gang rape on a Hackney estate in 2007.
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he → hold → 2007
He subsequently gave evidence in court against the attackers, helping prosecutors secure nine convictions, including a life sentence for one of those involved.
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prosecutors → give → those
A judge later lifted the anonymity order on seven of the nine attackers, who were all aged between 13-17.
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who → lift → 13
The court heard that gang leader O'Neil Denton, nicknamed 'Hitman', along with Weiled Ibrahim, Yusuf Raymond and Jayden Ryan, set upon the victim as she walked home one night.
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she → hear → victim
The group began attacking her after she had told Denton's girlfriend that she thought he was 'ugly'.
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he → begin → girlfriend
Badru intervened and later gave evidence in court against the attackers, helping prosecutors secure nine convictions.
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prosecutors → intervene → convictions
Denton and Ibrahim, both of whom admitted rape, kidnap and false imprisonment, were given indeterminate detention orders for the protection of the public.
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both → admit → public
They were told they would have to serve a minimum of three years and eight months before becoming eligible for parole and would remain on licence for life.
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they → tell → life
Raymond, then 16, pleaded guilty to the same offences and was sentenced to nine years in detention.
Ryan, 16, was given eight years, while Alexander Vanderpuije, 15, Jack Bartle, 16, and Cleon Brown, 15, each received six-year sentences.
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Vanderpuije → plead → sentences
Two other defendants, aged 14 and 16, could not be named because of their ages.
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defendants → name → ages
They did not physically attack the girl but were found to have helped prevent her escaping and were also given detention orders.
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her → attack → orders
For his bravery Badru was even recognised with a police bravery award in 2009.
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Badru → recognise → 2009
But he spent the rest of his life living in fear of retribution from those he helped to convict, staying indoors, covering his face, and changing his name.
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he → spend → name
His mother, Ronke, later told an inquest that threatening messages began days after the suspects were arrested.
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suspects → tell → inquest
One message read: 'You're dead meat.'
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You → read → ?
Another described him as 'a snitch'.
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Another → describe → snitch
Mrs Badru said she had begged police not to make her teenage son testify because she feared for his safety.
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she → say → safety
She said she was warned that she could be charged with perverting the course of justice if she attempted to intervene.
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she → say → justice
Abraham Badru, 26, was shot dead outside his home in Hackney, east London , in March 2018
O'Neil Denton (pictured) was jailed for life for the gang rape in 2007, after Mr Badru testified against the group in court
For his A-Levels Badru moved to Bristol but he eventually had to return to London after completing a master's degree and began working as a personal trainer in 2016.
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he → shoot → 2016
Then on the night of March 25, 2018 Badru was on the phone to a woman when he was fatally shot as he unloaded items from the boot of his car, shortly after 11pm.
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he → shoot → pm
The circumstances of the killing were examined at an inquest four years later.
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circumstances → examine → inquest
Detective Sergeant Matthew Bennett told the hearing that police had failed to establish a link between the murder and any particular suspect.
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police → tell → murder
He said: 'We still haven't, to this day, identified any links to the murder or any motive.
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We → say → murder
We couldn't find anyone who had a particular grudge or vendetta against him.
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who → find → him
It has just been a wall of silence in relation to the murder investigation.'
The former rape suspects were investigated as a potential line of inquiry, but detectives said they all had alibis for the night Badru was killed.
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Badru → investigate → night
Police also offered a £20,000 reward for information about the murder.
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Police → offer → murder
Despite the reward and a series of investigative inquiries, the killer has never been identified.
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killer → identify → inquiries
The family were informed in April this year that the investigation had been paused.
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investigation → inform → April
In an email a detective explained: 'There is an ongoing need to balance new investigations with older or legacy cases.
'
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detective → explain → cases
Unfortunately this cannot be managed on a simple chronological basis; instead decisions must be informed by a careful assessment of risk across all investigations.
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decisions → manage → investigations
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
