Michael Adebolajo, a Nigerian who attempted joining al-Shabab in 2010 has lost a legal challenge to his earlier conviction for the murder of a United Kingdom (UK) soldier, Fusilier Lee Rigby, in London.
On May 22, 2013, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were said to have killed Lee Rigby near Woolwich Barracks in London, driving into the soldier before hacking him to death.
As a result of the murder, Adebolajo got a life sentence in February 2014, while Adebowale was jailed for 45 years.
Twenty-five-year-old Adebolajo had been seeking leave to appeal the verdict, while challenging his whole-life sentence, while Adebowale argued for a reduction in his sentence.
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A report into the murder released in November showed Lee Rigby’s death could not have been prevented despite his killers appearing in seven intelligence investigations.
According to BBC, the report, by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), revealed Adebowale had expressed his intent to murder a soldier in a “graphic and emotive” manner during an exchange with an overseas extremist in December 2012.
The intelligence agencies did not know about this exchange, which was reported to have been on leading social networking platform, Facebook, until after Fusilier Rigby’s death.
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Justice Sweeney, who presided over the case, said as at the time of his sentencing, that Adebolajo’s case was one of those rare ones warranting a whole-life term.
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