Family seeks review of UK conviction, insists Nigerian student is innocent

The family of Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, who was wrongfully convicted of robbery and blackmail by the UK government on June 19, 2026, has said that their son is innocent of the charges against him.

Aderinkola Akinrinola and Olayinka Akinrinola, his parents, argued that their son, Oluwatobiloba, who has been remanded in Nottingham prison waiting for sentencing on July 27, 2026, did not commit the offence.

They noted that the police’s argument against him is that he is guilty by association with the prime suspect.

“The only evidence presented in court against our son is a picture he took with the Richile Vagnu, the prime suspect. And a CCTV camera that shows him entering the venue of the party where the robbery incident took place on November 21, 2025,” the parents said.

“Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola met Richile Vagnu (the prime suspect) in October after resuming school in September as a fresher at Leicester University. They were at best acquaintances.

“While our son was present at the party where the robbery incident took place, he was never part of the robbery. Some of the victims also confirmed this in court. As recorded in his statement, he came into the room where the robbery was taking place briefly, questioned the prime suspect about what was going on there and then left, insisting he did not want to be part of it.

“The robbery victims said they were robbed of their jackets and footwear, and none of the items was found with my son Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola after police searched his apartment.

“The police said they found evidence that money was transferred to the account of the other suspects, Vagnu and Ayomide Ibraheem, by the victims, but no evidence of such was found in my son’s bank account records.

“The court insists our son is guilty, but left other suspects to go scot-free, including Ayomide Ibraheem, whom the victims identified as the one who was blocking them from exiting the room where they were being robbed.

“In all the CCTV videos played by the police in court, my son did not appear at the scene of the crime at all. They only saw him entering the party.

“The police refused to produce other suspects in court. These are suspects who received money from the victims. The police said they did not honour the invitation.

“The victims have testified that our son was not involved. In fact, one of the victims said he was trying to help them. Please see the attached video.

“Few days after the robbery incident, our son saw a misleading video online made by a TikTok influencer pointing towards him as one of the attackers. He immediately called the police and told them he is willing to come in for questioning, as he was not involved in the robbery. The police told him not to bother because he is not a suspect.

“Our son is a calm and sociable young man who does not look down on anybody. He associates freely with people and has never been found at the scene of any crime prior to now.

“Please help us. We are devastated. We just want the world to hear our side of the story. Our son is about to suffer for a crime he did not commit. His life is about to be destroyed for something he did not do. We are about to be thrown into unending pain. We want the world to hear our side of the story so that the UK government can review the case”.