NYSC Member Faces Life Term Jail… View Story Below

A Nigerian student, who fled from the UK in 2009 after he murdered another Nigerian, Carl Beatson-Asiedu, has been convicted and jailed for murder by a Woolwich Crown Court.

Jeffrey Okafor was found guilty after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court and was on Friday sentenced to life with a minimum 17 years in jail.

The 24-year-old Okafor had stabbed Beatson-Asiedu, a 19-year-old undergraduate and actor in the BBC children’s series MI High, in the heart.

Beatson-Asiedu, also called DJ Charmz, had just performed at the Club Life nightclub in Kennington, south London before he was attacked by a group of men and stabbed once in the heart by Okafor in an argument.

Okafor then called his girlfriend, told her that he had just stabbed Beatson-Asiedu and told her to dispose of some clothes he wore when he committed the crime.

He then emptied his bank account, fled to Nigeria using his brother’s passport and was the subject of a five-year international manhunt.

Back in Nigeria, Okafor completed a university degree and was deployed for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Det insp Alison Hepworth, said Okafor lived comfortably until he was arrested in September 2014 after information was passed on to the Nigerian authorities.

“Jeffrey Okafor fled the UK to Nigeria illegally under a false identity in the hope of evading capture,” Hepworth said.

“He lived a relatively comfortable life and even had the opportunity to study at university.

“There is no doubt that he was supported by others both in the UK and in Nigeria.”

The British High Commission in Abuja in a statement said Okafor’s arrest was collaboration between the Nigerian and British police.

“With the help of the Nigeria Police Force and the British High Commission, detectives arrested Okafor on September 23, 2014. He was apprehended at a bank in Warri, Delta State, by Nigerian police officers,” the statement read.

“Okafor was extradited back to the UK and arrived at London Heathrow Airport on November 6, 2014, where he was arrested and charged with Carl’s murder.