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UK court clears another Damilola murder suspect
TWENTY-YEAR old Hassan Jihad, the eldest of the three young men standing trial for the murder of Damilola Taylor, has walked out a freeman from the central criminal court, Old Bailey, after the jury of seven women and four men reached a unanimous "not guilty," verdict on him.
Hassan, who showed no emotion as he was being cleared of all three charges of robbery, manslaughter and assault with intent to rob, became a free man at about 2.20pm, when after hearing the "not guilty," verdict, he took one last look at his accusers before swaggering out of the courtroom. Damilola's parents, Richard and Gloria Taylor, also showed no outward emotion as they watched the 20 -year old being cleared of all the charges.
Four youths aged under 18 were all cleared of killing Damilola following a trial in 2002.
Damilola had been attending an after-school computer club at Peckham library before being found fatally wounded.
Jihad told the court that he could not explain why a fibre matching those on Damilola's sweatshirt had been found on a pair of his trousers.
Defence counsel argued up to 600 sweatshirts from the boy's school could have been in circulation in Peckham at that time, and the fibre could have been picked up in any number of places.
The prosecution had claimed that Jihad and the two brothers, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the younger, attacked Damilola with a broken bottle in an attempted robbery.
But an expert who was a witness for the defence told the court that Damilola could have died after falling on to a glass bottle.
As the second Damilola murder trial heads into its final stages, the life of the 10-year-old Nigerian boy whose death in East London has continued to shock the world. A profile of the slain Nigerian by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reveals the anguish of the world at the murder.
Damilola wanted to be a doctor.
He "hopped playfully" to his local library after school "without a care in the world" on November 27, 2000, unaware the day would be his last.
Known to all as Damilola, the Nigerian was just 10 days short of his 11th birthday when he died.
Born and brought up in Lagos, he had come to Britain three months earlier with his mother, Gloria, elder sister, Gbemi and elder brother, Tunde.
Damilola's father Richard had to stay behind in Lagos because of his work.
Gloria and Richard Taylor had met and married in Britain in 1977, but left for West Africa in 1982. They returned to England in 2000.
Soon after arriving, Gbemi became ill and was admitted to King's College Hospital. The family stayed in London with a relative on a North Peckham Estate, so Gbemi could continue receiving treatment.
Damilola, who said his ambition was to become a doctor to cure his sister's illness, was enrolled at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Camberwell.
He made good progress in class and was well-liked - teachers saying he was "always smiling and seemed to be bouncing along when he walked".
But he soon began to complain to his mother that he was being bullied.
He registered with the computer club at the Peckham Library and would go there most days straight after school.
A committed Christian and keen to learn, he became fascinated by the worldwide web and began to develop many big ideas for the future.
A plaque unveiled a year after his death carried some of the last words he had written, revealing the extent of his ambition.
"I will travel far and wide to choose my destiny and remould the world, I know it is my destiny to defend the world, which I hope to achieve during my lifetime," the plaque reads.
Both British and Nigerians were shocked by his untimely death.
Hundreds of mourners attended his funeral, including former Wimbledon footballer John Fashanu, the Nigerian player Nwankwo Kanu and Paul Boateng, a Home Office minister at the time.
Prince Bola Ajibola, who was then the Nigerian High Commissioner, read an address from the Federal Government of Nigeria at the funeral saying his people had been "deeply touched" by the little boy's death.
Damilola's parents set up the Damilola Taylor Trust on the first anniversary of his death to give "life, opportunity and hope" to Britain's "downtrodden and underprivileged youth".
Footballer Rio Ferdinand who now plays for Damilola's favourite club, Manchester United, was involved in setting up the trust.
Five years on, the trust continues to work with young people all over the country, alongside a foundation named in his honour in Nigeria.
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