Killing of Jay Abatan

In the early hours of 24 January 1999, Jay Abatan was attacked outside the Ocean Rooms nightclub in Brighton, United Kingdom. He had been celebrating a promotion at work when an altercation over a taxi resulted in several men assaulting him and his brother, Michael. Abatan was seriously injured, dying of his injuries five days later. The killing is believed to have been racially motivated by Abatan's family and Sussex Police.

No one has been convicted in relation to the attack. Two men were charged with manslaughter and not prosecuted; they instead stood trial for causing actual bodily harm to Michael Abatan, and found not guilty. The investigation of the killing by Sussex Police was later reviewed by two other police forces and major failings were reported. A detective superintendent and two detective inspectors were found guilty of misconduct. Sussex Police closed their investigation in 2013 and the following year it was revealed that a serving police officer had connections to two of the men suspected of killing Abatan. As of 2022, the Abatan family were continuing to ask for justice and their campaign is supported by local Members of Parliament Peter Bottomley and Des Turner, as well as Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Early life

Jay Abatan was born in England and moved to Nigeria when he was six years old. He moved back to England at the age of 18 and became an accountant, working first for the Inland Revenue and then for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He lived in Eastbourne and was engaged to his partner; together they had two children, aged 8 and 9.