Nigerian drill rapper, Lekan Akinsoji aka ‘CD’ who wore a scary clown mask and brandished a shotgun from a stolen BMW during a police chase has been jailed for 23 years.
21 year old Lekan and three other gang members were chased by officers after they embarked on a “ride out” to target rivals in east London. Akinsoji was caught on camera waving a gun out of the window as they drove through narrow residential streets, over speed bumps, at up to 60mph.
Officers, including one who described the white mask as reminiscent of the Hollywood film Heat, opened fire, believing their lives were in danger, jurors were told. The rapper emerged from the car wearing a “frightening” clown mask and all four gang members were wearing gloves and had their faces either partially or fully covered.
Police seized an arsenal of weapons, including a loaded sawn-off shotgun, two lock knives, an axe, a machete, a hunting knife and a zombie knife. Akinsoji was linked to the Woodgrange or “E7” gang from Forest Gate, east London. Before the ride out, he had posted a drill rap video on YouTube that glorified gang culture and rivalry with the E11 gang.