15-year old Nigerian Youngster Joel Adesina knifed to death by Gang in east London

ANOTHER Nigerian youngster 15-year old Joel Adesina has been stabbed to death in London after being knifed in the stomach  during what appeared to be a row with a gang of other youths.

In the second such incident within the last few weeks, Joel,. a schoolboy who has been named as a talented footballer was brutally murdered in east London. He collapsed in Bethnal Green, on Friday night after being knifed in the stomach and was taken to hospital but died three hours later.

His mother is currently being comforted by family members who were said to be in shock. Joel’s neighbours in Dagenham described him as an ambitious schoolboy who came from a hard-working family.

They said he never stayed out late and would be regularly seen coming home in his football kit. Ricky Downes, the manager of Bardag FC Yellows, Joel’s football team said the winger was as good as gold and talented enough to play professionally.

Mr Downes added: ‘To say that myself and the club are devastated is an understatement, we are absolutely in bits. Joel was a wonderful young lad who had the world at his feet.

"He was a very talented footballer and had ambitions of playing professionally and I think he had a future in the sport and could have played for a living. There was something about Joel that touched me and his death is totally unexpected.

Police said the teenager from Dagenham was walking with friends when they were confronted by a group in a parked car. He and his friends were pursued into a housing estate where neighbours heard screaming and shouting, where Joel was cornered and stabbed.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: ‘Police were called by the London Ambulance Service to Bethnal Green Road, E2, at 23:04hrs on Friday, 5 December. Officers attended and found a 15-year-old boy suffering from serious stab injuries to the abdomen.

"The boy was taken by the London Ambulance Service to an east London hospital.  He died in hospital at 02:12hrs on Saturday, 6 December."

An 18-year-old man was arrested but was released with no further action to be taken. Chief Inspector Chris Jones of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command has asked for anyone who may have witnessed this altercation or have information which could assist the investigation to contact the police as soon as possible.

"He never gave me any inkling that he was involved in gangs or anything like that. He was cheeky, bubbly and a thoroughly likeable young man," Mr Downes added.

On Tuesday October 14, 25-year old Nigerian Olamide Fasina was chased by a gang of armed men into an alleyway off Wolvercote Road on Thamesmead's Tavy Bridge estate and stabbed in the heart and left to die. A group of Nigerians have put together a campaign called Oh Mother to campaign against knife crime

Bridgette Peters, the coordinator of Oh Mother, said that a meeting will be held on Saturday December 13 at Guys Hospital in London to brainstorm about how to tackle the problem. Starting at 5pm, the meeting  is expected to look at ways to get Nigerian youths to bin their blades and eschew gang violence.