A rapping jihadi dubbed the Masked Menace has been jailed for at least 19 years for plotting a lone wolf knife attack during the coronavirus lockdown.

Jobless Sahayb Abu, 27, bought an 18in sword, a knife, balaclavas and body armour online as he prepared to strike last summer.

He was arrested on July 9 after discussing guns with an undercover police officer, who he met on a Telegram chat group for supporters of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

Abu denied plotting an attack, claiming he had other plans, including becoming a successful rapper like Stormzy, who wore a stab vest on stage at Glastonbury.

But last month an Old Bailey jury found Abu guilty of preparing to engage in terrorist acts.

His brother Muhamed Abu, 32, of Norwood, south London, was cleared of failing to tell authorities about the plot.

Several of Abu’s relatives had been linked to extremism in the past, including a brother, sister and brother in-law who were jailed for collecting and disseminating terrorist documents.

His half-brothers Wail and Suleyman Aweys joined IS in Syria in 2015, where they are both believed to have been killed.

On Tuesday, Sahayb Abu, of Dagenham, east London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years at the Old Bailey.

Sentencing Abu, Judge Mark Dennis QC told him: “You of all people, having seen what befell your two younger brothers when they signed up to join the Isis cause in 2015 and having seen the course other members of your family have taken … resulting in prison sentences, should have made you, at the mature age of 27, turn your back on the violent extremist cause and promote instead peace and community that underlies the Islamic faith.

“Instead, within weeks of your own release, you joined others committed to joining that same cause.

“Within no time you were getting ready to carry out your own act of violence on the streets of this city.

“To this date you have yet to express any remorse for your actions.”

The judge said he was satisfied that Abu had everything he needed for a “lone wolf” attack and would have carried it out but for the intervention of police.

He added: “All that remained for him to decide was the time and place for him to carry out the act of violence in furtherance of the cause he supported.”

Judge Dennis also commended the work of the undercover officer known as Rachid whose evidence helped convict the defendant.

The court heard Sahayb Abu had no previous terror-related convictions but had two convictions for battery in 2016 and one for possession a knife in 2017.

The same year, the Abu brothers were caught with their older half-brother Ahmed Aweys putting up poppy posters in east London saying British tax was used to “kill Muslims”.

Sahayb Abu went on to associate with known terrorists while serving two years behind bars for a commercial burglary.

On his release on March 20 last year, he went from being “locked up to locked down” as the Covid-19 pandemic struck, jurors heard.

Over the next three months, he trawled the internet for IS propaganda, including pictures of fighters in balaclavas with guns.

He spent his £400 monthly benefits on two balaclavas, body armour, gloves, a camouflage hat and two blades, including an 18in sword, paying extra to get it sharpened.

He posed in his combat gear in homemade videos sent to Muhamed Abu.

Abu boasted the balaclava would “do the job” and said he was “just waiting on the body armour … the body armour stop a bullet”.

In another disturbing rap, he described London mayor Sadiq Khan as a “sell-out” and talked about murdered soldier Lee Rigby.

He said: “I’m trying to see many Lee Rigby’s heads rolling on the ground, man I shoot up a crowd cos I’m a night stalker, got my shank got my guns straight Isis supporter, reject democracy.

“Got my suicide vest, one click, boom and I’ll see you later.”

He also posted extremist comments online and came to the attention of an undercover officer known as Rachid in an exclusive IS supporters’ encrypted chat group on Telegram.

The pair met twice, and during their conversation used code words “silah” and “duty free” for firearms.

On his arrest, police uncovered a black IS flag in the flat where Sahayb Abu was staying.

In his defence, Abu denied buying the sword and combat gear for a terror attack.

He dismissed extremist posts as “trolling” and claimed he joined the Telegram group to attract women with his “bravado”.

He claimed to hate IS, saying his interest in the terror group was for news of his lost half-brothers.

In mitigation, Michael Ivers QC had argued that Abu’s preparations were not far advanced and came amid various other plans.

But Judge Dennis noted that on his brother Muhamed Abu’s account, the defendant would “come up with all these ideas and never follow through”.

The “big difference” was that Sahayb Abu had “actively done things” to prepare for an attack, he said.

As he was sent down to begin his sentence, Sahayb Abu addressed the judge, saying: “Thank you very much.”

Credit: PA News

Read more: Lone wolf terror attack planned using drones, axes and ‘Ninja Eggs’ court told

Rapping Jihadi bought 18 inch sword amid terror plot, court told

A man who planned to wreak terror during the pandemic was no clownish buffoon but a “very dangerous individual”, according to a senior counter-terrorism police officer.

Commander Richard Smith rejected Sahayb Abu’s wannabe rapper persona, as the 27-year-old was found guilty of preparing a terror act.

During the trial, jobless convicted burglar Sahayb Abu described his rap alter ego, the Masked Menace, and his dreams to make a fortune selling healthy drinks and set up an African charity.

In reality, he spent virtually all his £400 monthly benefits on a large sword, camouflage kit and bulletproof vest as he spread his pro-Islamic State views, the Old Bailey heard.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Smith said: “I have no doubt whatsoever that Sahayb had absolutely committed murderous intent in his preparations to carry out a terrorist act.”

Mr Smith, who is head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said there are currently 800 live investigations with no let-up despite Covid-19.

“What this case illustrates is the fact that, despite the pandemic and lockdown, the threat from terrorism has not gone away.

“We still face a substantial threat in this country which means an attack is likely.

“In the same way, the pandemic has not stopped people planning and preparing attacks like this, neither has it stopped our capability of detecting them and prosecuting, and we and our partners at MI5 will do all we can to keep people in this country safe from terrorism.”

Mr Smith described Somalia-born Sahayb Abu as a “very dangerous individual”.

”During the course of the investigation we saw him seeking to acquire a sword, getting hold of a knife, camouflage clothing and a ballistic vest, all with the intent of carrying out a terrorist attack in this country.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Sahayb had murderous intent – some of that was evidenced from the kind the things that he was posting online.”

Jurors heard some extended family members had been linked to extremism, including two half-brothers who are believed to have been killed in Syria.

Sahayb Abu also mingled with convicted terrorists while in jail and went on to join an Islamic State supporters’ chat group on Telegram.

On how he was radicalised, Mr Smith said: “I will not comment on the cause but I will say that nobody is born with hatred and intolerance within them.

“There needs to be some malign influence to spark that, and, once that’s happened, being surrounded by others with extremist views, whether that’s online or face to face, would certainly act to reinforce some of those hate-filled and abhorrent mindsets.”

Sahayb Abu had searched for various London embassies online and singled out a prominent Shia Muslim cleric, yet neither the police nor prosecution identified a specific target for the attack.

Mr Smith praised the courage of the undercover police officer, known as Rachid, who engaged with Sahayb Abu in encrypted chat and then met him twice.

The case underlined the “huge value” of covert officers as they came up against some “very dangerous, very volatile individuals”.

Mr Smith added: “It demands huge courage and incredible technical and professional skill from those officers and I absolutely applaud their bravery when they support this type of investigation.”

Read more: Rapping Jihadi bought 18in sword amid terror plot, court told

An aspiring rapper accused of plotting a terror attack has told jurors he made pro-Islamic State comments online for a “thrill” in lockdown.

Sahayb Abu, 27, allegedly bought an 18in sword, knife, body armour, balaclavas and a hat in preparation for a strike last summer.

He also discussed guns with an undercover police officer he met through an IS supporters’ Telegram chat group, it is claimed.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, the convicted burglar claimed he had an “epiphany” upon his release from prison in March last year.

He said he made numerous searches for IS online for news of his half-brothers Wail and Suleyman Aweys, who are believed to have died in Syria in 2016.

Cross-examining Abu on Monday, prosecutor John McGuinness QC said: “You say you were not radicalised while you were in prison.

“You told the police in your interview that the memory of what happened to Suleyman and Wail haunts you to the present day.

“You told police that your view was Isis needed to answer for your brothers.”

Abu agreed he had a grudge against IS and “would not care” if the terror group was bombed to bits.

He told jurors he was no Mother Teresa or Dalai Lama, and “pro-violence” online posts were just “trolling”.

Mr McGuinness said: “How did that fit in with the new man leaving prison?”

Abu said: “This happened during lockdown. Nothing to do. The phone became a kind of portal. Being a troll.”

The prosecutor asked Abu about one post on Islam being a religion of “war”.

He said: “That post could have been posted by somebody who believes in the ideas of IS, do you agree? And those are your words.

“Bearing in mind the personal tragedy that had befallen your family because of the activities of IS, why post something like that?”

Abu replied: “Because it would bring a thrill to my life. I know it’s sad. I know it’s pathetic.”

Mr McGuinness asked: “Didn’t you think, ‘this is exactly the sort of thing that caused me to lose two of my brothers’? You chose to make those words pro-IS. It’s IS sentiment.

“Didn’t those words choke in your mouth as you were typing?

“Or the other explanation is that these posts represent the way that you felt and thought at the time.”

Abu replied: “It was just quarantine. I became pathetic. I’m sorry. I apologise.”

Mr McGuinness went on: “I’m suggesting you did mean these words at the time.

“If you were really telling the jury the truth about IS and the effect the death of your two brothers had on you, you would not have made posts like that.

“You did what your brothers did, you joined them. You became an IS supporter.”

Abu replied: “No, I did not support them at all. I wanted to do good things in my life.”

Abu, of Dagenham in Essex, has denied preparing an act of terrorism before his arrest in July last year.

His brother Muhamed Abu, 32, of Norwood, south London, has pleaded not guilty to failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.

Read more: Rapping Jihadi Bought 18 Inch Sword Amid Lockdown

A rapping jihadi bought an 18in sword as he plotted a terror attack in the midst of the pandemic, a court has heard.

Before his arrest on July 9 last year, Sahayb Abu, 27, purchased online two blades, a combat vest, two balaclavas, fingerless gloves and a combat-style hat, the Old Bailey was told.

He is on trial alongside his brother Muhamed Abu, 32, who allegedly knew he was planning an act of terrorism but failed to report it.

Prosecutor John McGuinness QC said the brothers supported the aims of so-called Islamic State (IS) and rapped to each other of their extremist beliefs.

On June 17 last year, Muhamed Abu rapped: “Let’s get merky, let’s get hurty, I’ve got bombs that are just worthy…”

Mr McGuinness said that “merky” was slang for killing or injuring someone.

A minute later, Sahayb Abu rapped: “Got my under armour on, cos I gotta stay strong….

“I’ll be sending bombs and you’ll be getting smoked…and you’re just like an ant and you’ll be getting crushed under my boot…”

On June 28, Sahayb Abu posted a recording of himself singing: “No matter the way the wind blows, I will always be down with my bros, I will always be ready to eliminate the foes…”

Over three months before his arrest, Sahayb Abu allegedly made 110 searches for IS.

Last June, he also searched the internet for embassies, including the US, Russian and Israeli embassies in London, jurors heard.

When interviewed by police, Sahayb Abu denied being a supporter of IS.

He told police he got a smaller knife to fix a kitchen sink and the 18in blade because it “looked cool”.

He had the combat vest, balaclavas, gloves and hat because he parodied rap or drill videos, he said.

Any searches online for IS videos were to find out what had happened to two of his other brothers, who had been reported as having travelled to join IS and were thought to be either dead or missing, he said.

Chat on a Telegram group called Servants of the Unseen was an attempt to show off to women, he said.

Muhamed Abu denied he had any knowledge of a plan to commit a terrorist attack in the UK by his brother Sahayb or anyone else.

He told the police that IS was “a cancer, a tumour that needed to be excised from the face of the earth”.

Mr McGuinness countered the defendants’ claim not to be “anti-British” by telling jurors of an incident three years before.

On October 13 2017, in Ilford, east London, they put up posters of a red poppy headed: “Britain uses your tax money to kill Muslims in Muslim lands!”, the court heard.

Sahayb Abu, of South Norwood, south-east London, denies preparation of terrorist acts.

Muhamed Abu, of Dagenham, east London, denies failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.

Read more: Brothers to face trial over terror plot

Two brothers are to face trial in January for their alleged involvement in a terror plot.

Sahayb Abu is accused of plotting an extremist attack in the UK, while his brother Mohammed is accused of failing to inform police of his sibling’s intentions.

Sahayb, 27, of Doyle Road in South Norwood, south-east London, was arrested in July after allegedly purchasing or attempting to purchase items for use in terrorism.

The Metropolitan Police previously said Sahayb was bitten on the foot by a police dog during the raid.

He is charged with engaging in the preparation of terrorist acts on or before July 9 this year, under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Mohammed, 20, of Mayfield Road in Dagenham, east London, faces a charge of failing to disclose information likely to assist in a terrorist investigation.

Prosecutor Kiernan Cunningham QC told the Old Bailey: “Sahayb Abu was planning a terrorist act in this country; the prosecution argue that his brother had information about that attack and was in a position to provide that to the police.”

He asked for the cases to be tried together, saying the charges are “intrinsically linked”.

Mr Justice Sweeney listed the brothers’ trial for January 25 next year and they are due back in court for a plea hearing on November 23.

They are both being held in custody.