Robbers who 'humiliated' victims on TikTok jailed

Two men who "tortured" and "humiliated" party guests during a robbery before posting a video of their offences on TikTok have been jailed.

Leicester Crown Court heard on Monday that Richile Vangu, 20, and Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, 19, were both part of a plan that saw party-goers forced to take part in a dance for social media after being threatened with a knife at a gathering in North Kilworth, Leicestershire, on 21 November 2025.

Vangu demanded each person transfer him £1,000 before later filming himself whipping some of his victims with a belt.

Akinrinola, of Slippers Place, London, and Vangu, of Bowes Road, London, were jailed for seven and 11 years respectively.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Steven Evans said Vangu, 20, had planned to rob people at the party and "recruited" a group of men to help, including Akinrinola.

At the party, they had forced at least eight men into a bedroom before threatening them with a large "zombie-style knife" while stealing designer clothes and an iPhone.

Vangu then tried to force each of them to pay him £1,000, telling them he would stab them in the leg if they did not, before forcing them all to perform multiple takes of a TikTok dance while he took pictures of their student identification, confirming where they lived.

Evans told the court Vangu introduced himself as 'Trixta' "like a villain from the movies".

He added that although Akinrinola was "subservient" to Vangu, he played "an essential part" in the offences.

Vangu demanded that a number of the men who failed to transfer any money come to student accommodation in Bath Lane later the same day.

When they arrived, Akinrinola forced some of them to do star jumps and high knees before repeatedly punching them.

Vangu whipped a number of the men with a belt, shot them in the head with a BB gun, waxed their faces and said he would chop off their dreadlocks if they failed to pay him.

Evans said the pair "tortured" and "humiliated" the men.

Vangu then posted videos taken at both the house party and the student accommodation on TikTok.

Sentencing the pair, Evans said Vangu showed a "complete absence of empathy" to his victims, laughing when evidence was shown to a jury during his trial.

In a Probation Service report, an expert said he had "enjoyed humiliating and targeting" his victims.

After a trial, Vangu was found guilty of four counts of robbery, 10 counts of blackmail and one count of actual bodily harm.

At a previous hearing he pleaded guilty to one count of actual bodily harm.

On top of his 11-year jail term, he was given an extended licence period of three years.

Akinrinola was convicted of nine counts of blackmail, four counts of robbery and two counts of actual bodily harm. He was found not guilty of one count of blackmail.

Benjamin Osadolor, 19, of Pytchley Street, Northampton, and Ayomide Ibraheem, 19, of Sedan Way, London, who were both arrested in connection with the incident, were found not guilty on all counts.

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