IBADAN, June 26 — The shift is unmistakable. A family’s plea for a second look at a British court’s verdict is now drawing attention to what they call a flawed conviction. The parents of Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, a Nigerian student found guilty of robbery and blackmail in the United Kingdom, have publicly appealed for a review, insisting their son is innocent.
Mr Aderinkola Akinrinola and Mrs Olayinka Akinrinola released a statement in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday. Their son was convicted by a UK court on June 19, 2026.
He is currently held in a prison in Nottingham, awaiting sentencing scheduled for July 27. The parents allege the conviction rests largely on circumstantial evidence and their son’s association with the principal suspect. They detailed that Oluwatobiloba met Richile Vagnu shortly after starting his first year at Leicester University in September 2025.
Their relationship, the parents stressed, was that of acquaintances, not close associates. “Our son was present at the party where the incident took place, but he was never involved in the robbery,” the parents said.
They claimed that some victims testified in court that Oluwatobiloba was not among those who robbed them. According to the family, he only briefly entered the room, asked what was happening, and left after making it clear he did not want to be involved. Investigators found evidence of money transfers from victims to accounts linked to other suspects, the parents stated.
But they said no such transactions appeared in their son’s bank records. That detail, they argue, undercuts the prosecution’s case. CCTV footage presented during the trial did not place their son at the scene of the alleged robbery, apart from showing him arriving at the party, the parents further alleged.
They also noted that police were unable to produce some of the suspects. Watch this space — the family is clearly banking on these evidentiary gaps to build their case for a review.
The trend underneath this story is a familiar one: a young international student caught in a legal system far from home, with parents fighting from across the Atlantic. The Akinrinolas are not asking for sympathy. They are asking for a fresh look at the evidence — or the lack of it, as they see it.
What’s changing here is the public nature of the appeal. The family has chosen to go public with their claims, releasing the statement from Ibadan rather than working solely through legal channels in the UK.
That suggests a strategy aimed at both British authorities and public opinion. Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola remains in custody in Nottingham. His sentencing date is set for July 27.
The parents’ call for a verdict review now sits with the UK legal system. Whether the court will revisit its decision before that sentencing date is the question to watch.
