Michael Adebolajo tells court he killed Lee
Rigby in 'military attack'
One of the men accused of murdering Lee Rigby has
said in court for the first time that he killed the
fusilier, telling the jury that he was "obeying the
command of Allah".
Michael Adebolajo described himself as a "soldier of
Allah" and said he killed Rigby on 22 May outside
Woolwich military barracks in south London.
Asked by prosecutor Richard Whittam QC whether
he planned to kill Rigby on that date, Adebolajo
answered: "Yes."
Giving evidence from the witness box of the Old
Bailey, Adebolajo said: "I am a soldier of Allah and as
I've explained part of fighting jihad sometimes it
tells killing the enemy soldier."
He added: "As I said we planned a military attack
which obviously involved – sadly, it's not something
enjoyable – the death of a soldier."
When asked whether the killing was political, he told
the jury: "Jihad by its very nature is political."
Giving evidence from a witness box in front of the
soldier's family, Adebolajo told the jury he was "a
soldier of Allah" and that he had had "no choice" in
attacking Rigby outside Woolwich barracks in May
this year.
"Allah commands that I fight those militaries that
attack the Muslims," he said. "I don't feel that I have
any choice. I obey Allah and I commit my affairs into
his hands. This is all I can do."
Amid strict security, Adebolajo, wearing a black
zipped top, was handcuffed when being taken to the
witness box, and surrounded by five security guards
while giving evidence, while plainclothes police
officers wearing wires sat elsewhere in the court.
His co-accused, Michael Adebowale, watched from
the dock, also surrounded by prison guards.
Both men deny murder, though Adebolajo, who
addressed passersby filming him with camera
phones immediately after the killing, openly
admitted attacking Rigby in his evidence.
Asked by his barrister, David Gottlieb: "What is your
defence to the charge of murder?", he said: "I am a
soldier. I am a soldier. I am a soldier of Allah. I
understand that some people might not recognise
this because we do not wear fatigues and we do not
go to the Brecon Beacons to train.
"But we are still soldiers in the sight of Allah and to
me this is all that matters. If Allah considers me a
soldier then I am a soldier."
Asked about his feelings towards Rigby's family, the
28-year-old, who referred to himself in the witness
box as Mujaahid Abu Hamza, said he had "no
animosity or bad feeling towards them, because
every soldier has family, and his family love him just
like me. My family did not stop loving me the
moment I became a soldier so I don't blame them.
"I killed somebody who they love and who is dear to
them. At the same time, people who I love who are
dear to me are killed as well. We are not the only
ones who feel pain in this country. Muslims feel pain
too. We love people too."
Asked about earlier comments that his actions had
been part of an "ongoing war", Adebolajo said:
"Basically it's a war between Islam and those
militaries that invade Muslim lands. One of them just
happens to be British military and therefore the war
continues even to this day."
The 28-year-old mumbled frequently during his
evidence and had to be told to speak directly into his
microphone, but nodded when Gottlieb led him
through the procedures of the court. Told not to
speak when Mr Justice Sweeney, referred to as "his
lordship", was speaking, he said: "I agree. I don't
believe he is a lord, but I agree."
The barrister, who had warned him he would be
stopped if he tried to embark on "political speeches",
interrupted his answers a number of times. "I'm
going off a bit, forgive me," Adebolajo said at one
point.
Asked by his barrister to outline his views on British
foreign policy since 1997, the accused said: "I am
wholeheartedly against it … When I speak to the
average non-Muslim, even they don't agree with
foreign policy and their government since 1997, so I
don't believe I am the only one."
Describing himself as a "mujahid" or jihadist fighter,
Adebolajo said he was "wholeheartedly against"
British foreign policy since 1997, adding that he
blamed Tony Blair for the death of a schoolfriend
who had been killed in the Iraq war.
Adebolajo told jurors that he was "wholeheartedly
against" British foreign policy and that he was
"disgusted" by television coverage of the US-led
shock and awe operation in Iraq in 2003.
"The Iraq war probably grated on me the most when
I was in college. I remember watching the news,
watching Trevor McDonald, I remember I saw
Operation Shock and Awe unfold on the news. I was
disgusted.
"They were reporting it as if it was something
praiseworthy … the might of the west. It disgusted
me. I wasn't Muslim at the time but it disgusted me."
Gottlieb asked what he believed should happen to
him after the trial, whether he is found guilty or
innocent of the charge, he said: "As an enemy soldier
I believe either I should be ransomed to my
Mujihadeen brothers … either ransomed back to the
Mujihadeen or I should be set free or I should be
killed."
Killed by whom, asked Gottlieb. "I don't know how it
typically works, but from what I have read from
previous wars, maybe the military, maybe a court."
He was asked why, in the moments after the killing,
he had assured horrified pedestrians who had
witnessed the attack that they were not in danger.
"Because at the best of times people can be afraid of
black men," he said. In addition to these
"unfortunate stereotypes", he acknowledged, there
was "the fact that I had blood on my hands and face,
that I had bloodied weapons".
He paid tribute, however, to the firearms officers
who gave him and Adebowale first aid after
disarming them, saying: "With regards to the
firearms officers, you can have nothing but
admiration for somebody who has the kindness to
attempt to preserve the lives of two men who on the
surface he must have thought I was going to kill
them. So for him to perform first aid, I respect that."
As for the medical team that had treated his injuries,
he said: "I believe that this country perhaps going by
what I experienced at King's College hospital,
perhaps we have the best nurses on the planet. They
were so kind … I told my family that anyone who
heard of these people … should bring them
chocolates and flowers. I respect them very much
indeed."
Adebolajo also said that he considered al-Qaida his
"brothers in Islam" and that he was radicalised in
part by television coverage of the Iraq invasion.
Asked by his Gottlieb how he could be certain that
Rigby was a soldier before the attack, Adebolajo told
the court: "Well, I don't believe there is a way to
know 100% he was a soldier. However, there was
some steps we took before we set out on the day.
"I stayed up worshipping Allah, begging him that he
make the mission a success, that we strike a soldier
and a soldier only.
"As well as that, while we were waiting we
continued to beg Allah to ensure that we did not
target anyone outside the permissibility of Islam. I
saw the soldier, he was carrying this type of bag
they all carry in Woolwich.
"Then we waited to ensure he was going towards the
entrance of the barracks. These things combined
made me certain that he was a soldier."
Asked the same question by Whittam, Adebolajo
said: "The truth is we targeted a soldier and we
killed a soldier. He was not a medic, he was a
professional soldier."
Adebolajo, who appeared to have some of his front
teeth missing, described how he was raised by
Christian parents and would attend church every
Sunday.
He said he converted to Islam in his first year at the
University of Greenwich and that it was his
"everything".
"My religion is everything," he said. "When I came to
Islam I realised that … real success is not just what
you can acquire, but really is if you make it to
paradise, because then you can relax."
Asked for his opinion on al-Qaida, Adebolajo said:
"al-Qaida I consider them a mujahid group. I love
them. They are my brothers. I never met them but I
love them. I consider them my brothers in Islam."
He later told jurors that he realised he might end up
killing a soldier when he converted to Islam.
"I never, obviously growing up I never thought about
killing a man. It's not the type of thing the young
child thinks about," he said.
"But when the soldier joins the army he knows he
will likely kill a man in his tour of duty … When I
became a Muslim I realised I might end up killing a
soldier."
Adebolajo said it was "childish" to ask how he
believes his own views compare with those of the
average British Muslim.
"I love every Muslim," he said. "Allah said it's my
duty to protect them even if they hate my guts right
now because of my actions. That's not my concern.
My concern is does Allah love me."
He said he believed that the British people have
become "so arrogant" that they believed that "only
our lives are valuable".
"The love for my mother is not greater than an
Afghanistan man for his mother," he said. "Why is
that greater than an Afghanistan man for his
mother? I don't believe this."
Adebolajo told the court that he tried to go to
Somalia in 2010 because he wanted to live in
accordance with sharia law, but was detained by
Kenyan police.
The 28-year-old, who grew up in Romford in London,
said he was arrested unjustly on two counts of
assault against police officers after attending a
demonstration. It was while being held in the police
cells after his arrest, he said, that he began to see
political protest as "impotent rage".
"It allows you to let off steam. The reality is no
demonstration will make a difference. Even the 1
million people [who] marched against the Iraq war it
did not change a single thing."
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