A family feud between two brothers led to one of them hiring an armed thug who would go on to carry out a murder the following month. Killer Victor-Eduard Raja, who is currently behind bars, was recruited by Sajiid Ibrahim to threaten his brother over a £5,000 debt.
The brother, who has a heart condition and thin blood which makes bleeding difficult to stop, was held in the back of a car at knifepoint by Raja, who asked Ibrahim if he should “poke” his brother with the weapon.
No injuries were caused to the brother, and Ibrahim later pleaded guilty to affray. The 33-year-old car dealership owner appeared for sentencing at Leicester Crown Court on Friday (January 10). He was spared jail after promising the judge he wanted no more hostility with his family.
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Annabelle Lenton, prosecuting, said that during the incident in the car in August 2023, Ibrahim had threatened to stab and to shoot his brother over the £5,000 debt, which his brother did not believe he owed. Ibrahim also threatened his brother’s wife and child, who were at their home in Leicester at the time.
Raja, who fatally stabbed Sidney Palmer in Conduit Street, Leicester city centre, in September that same year, then asked Ibrahim: “Shall I poke him?”
Reading out his victim statement to the court, Ibrahim’s brother said: “I was ambushed with a knife put to my throat. I was left feeling helpless and told I was one phone call away from my family being in danger.
“This traumatising experience has stayed with me every day since. I endured sleepless nights, flashbacks and overwhelming anxiety.”
Sentencing took place at Leicester Crown Court
(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
He said he and his family used to be able to enjoy days out together but were now “constantly looking over our shoulders” due to the fear of an attack. He added: “My family and I have been through hell.”
The victim then turned to address his brother, who was sitting in the dock in court, and told him: “You endangered my son – your nephew – and my wife. You did it and showed no remorse.
“You’ve brought untold fear and pain into our lives and yet you act as though nothing of it matters.”
Lynsey Knott, representing Ibrahim, said her client did feel remorse about what had happened. Commenting on the incident in the car, she said: “This incident hasn’t started from nowhere. There’s been an increasing animosity between these two brothers – a feud between the family.
“The defendant has expressed remorse for what has happened. He says there is a genuine debt. He felt he had been wronged by his brother.”
She said her client, who, the court was told, lives in “the Narborough Road area” of Leicester, had no objections to a proposed restraining order banning him from contacting his brother or his father for the next 10 years.
Ibrahim then addressed Judge Robert Brown directly, telling him: “I feel bad about everything that’s happened and I don’t want to continue anything. I want to carry on with my life.”
Judge Brown then said to Ibrahim: “You recruited Raja and it’s the nature of what Raja is that looms large in everyone’s minds because of what he went on to do.” Ibrahim replied that he did not know Raja well nor realise what he was capable of.
The judge said the incident involving Ibrahim’s brother was “ugly and horrible”, but told Ibrahim that he believed he was remorseful and that he did not expect to see him in court again.
Ibrahim was given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 120 hours of unpaid work and an order to pay £1,380 costs. The judge also made a restraining order, banning Ibrahim from contacting his brother or father or going to their business premises over the next decade.
The court heard that no prosecution was brought against Raja for the incidents in August 2023 due to the fact he had already been jailed for life for a more serious crime. Before Ibrahim’s brother, father and other family members left court, Judge Brown told them that Raja was serving a minimum of 25 years behind bars before he will be considered for parole.