A gang of killers who disguised themselves in women’s burkhas before storming into home and brutally murdering two rappers in a revenge attack have been jailed for a total of 152 years.
Some 45 shots were fired and Mr Sheikh – who was a rapper under the name Giddy – was ‘butchered’ during the midnight raid on October 25, 2022.
A third man, Khalid Khalid, was shot six times – including through the head – but remarkably survived, while a fourth fled with a shoulder wound and a fifth hid between a bed and a wall.
The murders were orchestrated by Zain Mirza, 21, in revenge for the killing of his brother who was stabbed to death three years earlier.
Saydi Abu Skeikh, pictured, was brutally shot and stabbed to death in a gang-related revenge attack
The attack was orchestrated by Zain Mirza, pictured, in revenge for a fatal stabbing that killed his brother
Chibuike Ohanweh, 21, Ayaanle Adan, 20, and Mahad Gouled, 22, carried out the carnage, with Mirza nearby.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, they were all found guilty of double murder, two charges of attempted murder and perverting the course of justice.
On Tuesday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC sentenced them to life with a minimum term of 38 years.
He told them: ‘I’m entirely satisfied that the events were the culmination of a carefully planned retaliation attack for the killing of Mohammed Usman Mirza.
‘Not satisfied with with the police investigation, convictions and sentence of those responsible, you Mirza embarked on planning a revenge attack on members of a rival gang.’
Ohanweh, from Romford, Adan, from Barking, Gouled, from Enfield, and Mirza, of Newham, were also handed life sentences for the attempted murders and six years for perverting the course of justice to run concurrently.
A fifth defendant, Zakarie Mohamad, 19, of Kensington, was sentenced to four years in a young offenders institute after he pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
Judge Lucraft said the offence was aggravated by the level of planning that went into it.
Mirza’s brother Mohammed Usman Mirza, 19, was ambushed and violently stabbed to death in a ‘carefully planned’ attack in November 2019 – itself in revenge for a different stabbing.
The attackers had donned burkas to hide their identities when they set off from a ‘mission’ base flat a couple of miles away.
They travelled to the murder scene in a stolen Mitsubishi Outlander which was set on fire minutes afterwards, destroying all but one of their discarded robes.
Chibiuke Ohanweh was part of the group of three men who carried out the hit job. He has been jailed for a minimum of 38 years
Mahad Gouled was jailed for a minimum of 38 years after being found guilty of two counts of murder and two of attempted murder
Ayaani Ali Adan was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years for his role in the murders
The court heard that the sounds from the gunshots were mistaken for fireworks by people living nearby, with prosecutors saying when police arrived minutes later they ‘found a scene of bloody carnage’.
Prosecutor John Price, KC, told the jury earlier: ‘In an upstairs room were two young men, both dead or dying. They had each been shot and stabbed many times.’
Saydi Sheikh was stabbed 28 times and shot four times, while Zakariya Mohamed was stabbed five times and shot seven times.
Mr Price said: ‘A third young man, gravely wounded, had been left for dead. Though he sustained a gunshot wound which had passed through his head, he was to survive.’
Mr Khalid’s family were told he may end up as needing around the clock care. He made a remarkable recovery but was left with a brain injury and lost hearing in one ear.
Mr Sheikh ran outside but the bullets grazed the top of his shoulder by his neck, the court heard.
The prosecutor added: ‘A fifth man was even more fortunate. Zachary Abdi had been in the upstairs room but before the gunmen were able to force their way into the room, he had concealed himself between a bed and the wall and almost miraculously, his presence there went undetected by the gunmen.’
One of the killers was heard saying ‘he’s not dead yet, finish him, stab him, kill him’ after Sheikh had been shot through a door, the court heard.
Judge Lucraft said: ‘What took place on the night of October 25th into the early hours of October 26th 2022 was very well orchestrated and planned.
‘This is, all too sadly, yet another example of gang rivalry and violence played out on the streets of London.
‘Two more young men killed, one young man left with life-changing injury, another lucky he only received a single gunshot wound, and this court sentencing more young men to lengthy terms in custody.
‘Each of you has sought to distance yourself from what took place by saying you were not involved and some blaming other members of your gang. Two of you claimed to be elsewhere.
‘As the verdicts show, your lying accounts have been comprehensively disbelieved.’
Saydi Abu Sheikh, 23, (pictured) and Zakariya Mohamed, 31, were gunned down in a house in Ilford, east London , in a ‘scene of bloody carnage’ in the early hours of 25 October 2022
Police officers in forensics gear walk along the road after the brutal attack in Ilford on October 25
An aerial view over the police cordon around the house where the revenge attack took place
Judge Lucraft noted a ‘chilling’ remark as Mr Sheikh was attacked, with one saying: ‘He is not dead yet – finish him, stab him, kill him.’
He said Ohanweh and Mirza had been on licence at the time and Adan subject to a community order.
In a statement, Mr Sheikh’s family said he ‘put a smile on countless faces’.
They said: ‘His untimely murder has left an irreplaceable void in our lives.’
Mr Mohamed’s family said losing their ‘beloved Zakariya’ had ‘cast a long, dark shadow on our family’, adding: ‘Our hope is that over time we can find a new normalcy.’
In their victim impact statement, Mr Khalid’s family said: ‘The journey of his recovery became a tumultuous odyssey.
‘The person he once was has been altered by a brain injury. Despite the hardship, we are immensely grateful that he is still with us today.’
Mitigating, David Etherington KC said Mirza’s father had written a statement to express his sorrow for the murders his son helped to commit.
in the letter, the defendant’s father said: ‘No parent should have to bury their child. I speak from experience when I say it is the hardest thing any parent can do.’
Tom Forster KC, for Adan, acknowledged the murders were the ‘most appalling example of the most grotesque violence’.
But he said a report had confirmed Adan’s diagnosis of ADHD and suggested the defendant’s age and maturity as mitigating factors.
Stephen Kamlish KC, representing Mohamad, said the defendant had been ‘criminally exploited’, ‘humanly trafficked’ and was a victim of modern slavery.
He said Ohanweh and Mirza had been on licence at the time and Adan subject to a community order.