Abraham Badru: Family of ‘beautiful soul’ gunned down in Hackney ‘beyond heartbroken’ over murder and plead for public to help find ‘evil' killer

Abraham Badru, 26, was an aspiring PhD student who was well-loved by friends and family
Metropolitan Police
Chloe Chaplain29 March 2018
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The family of an aspiring PhD student who was shot dead in the street in Hackney have paid tribute to the young man with a “beautiful soul.”

Abraham Badru, 26, was gunned down as he got out of a car near his family home in east London on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses described how his mother screamed with grief when she came out of her home to find her son collapsed on the pavement.

The young man, who was given a police award for bravery as a teen after saving a woman from a sex attack, is the son of a prominent Nigerian politician and has been described as “brave, honest and loving”.

'Well-loved': The 26-year-old was shot dead in the street near his home

In a powerful statement, his family said they are "beyond heartbroken" and urged the public to help find his “evil” killer.

They said they have been left “filled with emptiness as we put together our feelings on our greatest loss”.

"All you ever wanted was just to live that beautiful life."

They describe Mr Badru, whose full name is Abraham Oluwatosin Dolapo Badru, as a “bright light who was put out by the hands of evil person”.

“His mother’s only child, the pillar of her existence, and the first of his father's two children.

"He was the best son any parent could ever pray to have and a very loving and protective brother; he was humble, conscientious, respectful, kind and exuberated love and confidence,” the family said.

Mr Badru’s father Dolapo Badru, 62, is a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives

Mr Badru, who worked as a football coach after completing his Masters in sports coaching at University of Gloucestershire, is described as “goal-driven, a very ambitious, hard-working young man who also dedicated his time, skills and talent to different charities for different causes”.

“He was an upstanding individual who advocated unity and peace in his community and to those that surrounded him.”

Neighbours said Mr Badru had been to church earlier that day and was getting out of his car when he was shot.

“As soon as I heard the bang, I knew it was a gunshot. I went to my balcony and saw a man slumped over on the ground at the back of a car,” one said. “There was just one shot and a cry of pain. No speeding scooter and no speeding car.”

Police at the scene in Dalston following the shooting which took place on Sunday night
PA

Another described his mother finding him on the floor. “It was terrible listening to her collapse crying on the floor,” they said. “She was just screaming.”

The victim's family said the keen footballer has been “his mother’s world”, adding: “Equally he cherished her and cared for her in every way he could. They were best friends.”

His father Dolapo Badru, 62, is a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives, the country’s 360-seat equivalent to the House of Commons.

Neighbours said Mr Badru had been to church earlier that day and was getting out of his car when he was shot
PA

He told the Standard his “quiet and hard-working” son once saved a young woman from rape on the estate and later gave evidence which led to her attacker being jailed.

He said: “A few years ago a girl was raped on the estate and Abraham fought them off. He went to court to testify against them and the police gave him an award.”

In the moving tribute, the family call for an end of the “gun culture becoming rampant in our community” asking “how many more families will be ripped apart with this senseless and callous crime?"

"We really have to stop and think - when will we stop the innocents from being taken off our streets, why do we allow other people to play God?

“It's all fine until it happens close to home and if we don't put an end to it now, that will be the eventual reality, a lot of innocent souls taken suddenly and occasionally.

“We urge someone, anyone to come forward with information be it minute. We've all come together to talk about how much joy Abraham brought to our lives and the least we can do is ensure his life and death won’t be in vain.

"You were such a beautiful soul AB. All you ever wanted was just to live that beautiful life just like every normal person which you did. You will always be loved. Forever in our heads AB."

Police said they were called at 11.11pm to Ferncliff Road following reports of gunshots heard.

The family's statement in full

"We are beyond heartbroken, filled with emptiness as we put together our feelings on our greatest loss. A bright light, Abraham Oluwatosin Dolapo Badru, was put out by the hands of evil person on Sunday night. His mother’s only child, the pillar of her existence, and the first of his father's two children. He was the best son any parent could ever pray to have and a very loving and protective brother; he was humble, conscientious, respectful, kind and exuberated love and confidence. 

"Abraham was goal-driven, a very ambitious, hard-working young man who also dedicated his time, skills and talent to different charities for different causes. He was studious and worked extremely hard to earn a BSc in Sport Science and a MSc Professional Practice in Sports Coaching at University of Gloucestershire, he was aspiring to also have a PhD under his belt. He was an upstanding individual who advocated unity and peace in his community and to those that surrounded him. 

"Abraham was truly one of a kind, he was his mother’s world, equally he cherished her and cared for her in every way he could. They were best friends, he was an absolute joy who never stopped smiling, a smile that would melt hearts, always willing to help everyone he came across. He was always striving to improve his life and the lives of those he cared for. He was a highly dependable son and friend, and honesty was second nature. 

"Abraham was a very brave young man, he was the second to receive a Binney Memorial Award for his bravery and a Police Public Bravery Award, both issued by the police at a ceremony in Manchester on 8 July 2009. He helped the police in convicting some boys who had raped a teenage girl on their estate by being a witness in court. Not withstanding all the threats he received, he was bold and strong enough to do the right thing and make sure justice was served. He did his best and what was right in all circumstances.

"Abraham had a zest for life, he was passionate about football and fashion, he enjoyed travelling, exploring and experiencing different cultures. He was generous to a fault, a very sociable individual. 

"Abraham hates confrontation, he has never been involved in any fight be it physical or verbal, not to talk of being involved in a gang or condoning gang violence. An avid church-goer, a God fearing young man, this is why it’s hard to comprehend why anyone would want to hurt him and cause a void that could never be replaced or recreated, why would anyone lurk and wait to carry out such a brutal attack? He steered clear from trouble, loved life too much to risk it in any way. He just wanted to be happy and continue to make his parents happy and his loved ones. 

"There is absolutely no reason for any kind of violence, it causes more pain than resolution, the gun culture is becoming rampant in our community and we all need to come together and put a stop to it. How many more families will be ripped apart with this senseless and callous crime. We would like anyone who has any information that could possibly help to reprimand and possibly convict the perpetrator to please come forward, please search your conscience and imagine being in our shoes. We all feel empty and helpless, it would bring some sort of resolution if we can have Justice for Abraham Badru as he wouldn’t hesitate to help anyone in need when he knows he can help. 

"We really have to stop and think - when will we stop the innocents from being taken off our streets, why do we allow other people to play God? It's all fine until it happens close to home and if we don't put an end to it now, that will be the eventual reality, a lot of innocent souls taken suddenly and occasionally. We urge someone, anyone to come forward with information be it minute. We've all come together to talk about how much joy Abraham brought to our lives and the least we can do is ensure his life and death won’t be in vain.

"You were such a beautiful soul AB. All you ever wanted was just to live that beautiful life just like every normal person which you did. You will always be loved. Forever in our heads AB."

Mr Badru was discovered in the street suffering from gunshot wounds and died at the scene, with a later post-mortem examination giving the cause of death as a single shotgun wound to the chest.

There have been no arrests at this stage.

DCI Noel McHugh said: "This is a tragic and shocking incident - a young man with ambitions and so much to live for gunned down in the street. His family and friends cannot comprehend what has happened.

"We need to build up a picture of Abraham’s life, who all his friends were, girlfriends and any disputes that he may have had. We want to focus on his movements from Saturday up to the point of his death - were you with Abraham, did you speak to him?

"I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who was in Ferncliff Road and the surrounding roads between around 10.30pm and 10.15pm. Did you see anyone loitering, any vehicles or people that looked out of place? Abraham had a nice car, it would probably have caught your eye parked in a street - did you see it that night?

"If you were in these roads at the time of the shooting, it is really important that we hear from you to account for your movements and to exclude you from the investigation.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the incident room on 02087858099, via 101 or @MetCC. Alternatively, to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in