Photos: Mentally-ill Nigerian man sentenced for stabbing renowned London professor to death

Photos: Mentally-ill Nigerian man sentenced for stabbing renowned London professor to death

A 23-year-old Nigerian man has been sentenced for stabbing a new father to death in front of his home in Islington, north London, in December last year.

Femi Tinchang Nandap, who had over stayed his student visa pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey on Monday, October 10th, 2016, following the fatal stabbing of 41-year-old renowned lecturer Jeroen Ensink, who was a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Nandap was suffering from a cannabis-induced psychosis at the time of the killing, was handed a Hospital Order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 at the Old Bailey on Monday, 10 October.

Dr Ensink, who was ecstatic about being a new father, left his home at lunchtime on 29 December 2015 to post a number of cards to friends and family to inform them of the recent birth of his daughter. He had only walked a short distance when he was approached by Nandap, who launched into a vicious attack with a knife.

Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Piscopo, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said:

"I hope today's sentence will bring some peace and closure to Jeroen's family. What should have been the happiest time of Jeroen's life was ended on 29 December 2015 by the violent and unprovoked actions of Nandap. Jeroen did not stand a chance during the attack, and now, sadly, his daughter will grow up without her father in her life."

Police were called at 13:50hrs on 29 December 2015, to reports of a man who had been stabbed in Hilldrop Crescent in Islington, N7. An off-duty member of the Met's Special Constabulary went to Dr Ensink's aid and commenced CPR. She later told officers that she had seen Nandap holding a large black handled knife. Officers and the London Ambulance Service also attended but Dr Ensink was pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour later. Nandap was arrested nearby following a short chase. He was taken to Islington police station and charged with murder the following afternoon, 30 December 2015.

Speaking to the court, Dr Ensink's heartbroken wife Nadja, said: "I'm here to show how a single, mindless act affected us for life. No words can ever describe the loss and pain we're going through. Jeroen was everyone's friend, but he was my soulmate. Our daughter was born on 18 December and it was everything Jeroen ever wanted. He was the proudest man ever, but he only got to share her life for 11 days. These were the happiest days of his and my life. Jeroen was stabbed outside our front door in a random attack by a complete stranger. The cards announcing our joy were scattered in the street stained with his blood. On 29 December 2015 my world collapsed and stopped turning. I don't know how I managed to go on, and I still don't know. Almost 10 months have passed and our daughter has flourished into the most wonderful human being and she brings so much love and light into my life, but there's also a massive void that cannot be filled. I'm dreading the day when she asks why she does not have a father and I have to explain what's happened. Not only was the love of my life taken from me but with him all our hopes and dreams. He never got a real chance to see me be a mother. The life we had started ended before we had a chance to settle into it." 

Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC described Dr Ensink as a "truly remarkable" and "inspirational" man.

"This was an attack of extreme ferocity, there was no surviving it. No sentence I can pass can begin to reflect the enormity of the family's loss. It's rightly been said that his death is a loss to a large proportion of the world's poor. It's a dreadful irony that a man who devoted his life to those he would never know or meet, was himself killed by a stranger."

He also praised the “considerable bravery” of the off-duty member of the Met’s Special Constabulary, who told Nandap to move away from Dr Ensink before commencing CPR

The judge added: "I express the hope that those in a position to do so will investigate all aspects of this case and the appropriate lessons will be learned."

Source: Metropolitan Police UK/Daily Mail