Rapping jihadi jailed for 19 years for planning ‘lone wolf’ terror attack

A rapping jihadi dubbed the Masked Menace has been jailed for at least 19 years for plotting a lone wolf knife attack during the coronavirus lockdown in Britain.

Unemployed Sahayb Abu, 27, bought an 18in sword, a knife, balaclavas and body armour online as he prepared to strike last summer.

He was arrested on July 9 after discussing guns with an undercover police officer, who he met on a Telegram chat group for supporters of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

Abu denied plotting an attack, claiming he had other plans, including becoming a successful rapper like Stormzy, who wore a stab vest on stage at Glastonbury.

But last month an Old Bailey jury found Abu guilty of preparing to engage in terrorist acts.

His brother Muhamed Abu, 32, of Norwood, south London, was cleared of failing to tell authorities about the plot.

Several of Abu's relatives had been linked to extremism in the past, including a brother, sister and brother in-law who were jailed for collecting and disseminating terrorist documents.

His half-brothers Wail and Suleyman Aweys joined IS in Syria in 2015, where they are both believed to have been killed.

On Tuesday, Sahayb Abu, of Dagenham, east London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years at the Old Bailey.

He spent his unemployment money benefits on two balaclavas, body armour, gloves, a camouflage hat and two blades, including an 18in sword, paying extra to get it sharpened.

He posed in his combat gear in homemade videos, and boasted the balaclava would "do the job" and said he was "just waiting on the body armour ... the body armour stop a bullet".

In a disturbing rap, he described London mayor Sadiq Khan as a "sell-out" and talked about murdered soldier Lee Rigby.

He said: "I'm trying to see many Lee Rigby's heads rolling on the ground, man I shoot up a crowd cos I'm a night stalker, got my shank got my guns straight Isis supporter, reject democracy.

"Got my suicide vest, one click, boom and I'll see you later."

Sentencing Abu, Judge Mark Dennis QC told him: "You of all people, having seen what befell your two younger brothers when they signed up to the Isis cause in 2015, and having seen the course that other members of your family had taken which had resulted in them receiving prison sentences in 2019 as a result of their activity in respect of the same cause, should at the mature age of 27 years have turned your back on the violent extremist cause and promoted instead the cause of peace and unity which underlies the Islamic faith and so many other faiths around the world.

"Instead, within weeks of your own release from prison you had sought out and joined other extremists committed to supporting and promoting that same violent cause, and within no time you were getting ready to carry out your own act of violence on the streets of this country.

"It was the commendable work of the police in this matter that put an end to your plans. To this date you have yet to express any remorse for your actions."

The judge said he was satisfied that Abu had everything he needed for a "lone wolf" attack and would have carried it out but for the intervention of police.

Online Editors