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Small boat migrant jailed for life for stabbing bank customer to death in unprovoked random attack

Nur pleaded guilty to the murder of father-of-three Gurvinder Singh Johal

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Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, aged 47, who murdered Gurvinder Singh Johal
Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, aged 47, who murdered Gurvinder Singh Johal. Picture: Derbyshire Police

By Ella Bennett

A small boat migrant has been jailed for at least 25 years for murdering a bank customer at random shortly after angrily complaining about his refused asylum application.

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Somali national Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, who paid 400 euros to travel to the UK last year, could be seen on multiple CCTV cameras attacking Gurvinder Singh Johal with a black-handled kitchen knife at a Lloyds Bank branch in Derby in May.

Derby Crown Court heard Nur had called charity Migrant Help less than two hours before the killing, saying he was “going to kill 500 people”, later suggesting he was going to target “doctors, police or people working at the Home Office”.

The 47-year-old had claimed asylum in October last year shortly after arriving in the UK, which was rejected by the Home Office because he had arrived “voluntarily” – a decision he later appealed.

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Gurvinder Singh Johal
Gurvinder Singh Johal was attacked with a black-handled kitchen knife at a Lloyds Bank branch in Derby. Picture: Family handout

Jailing Nur for life on Wednesday, Judge Shaun Smith KC told the defendant the murder was a “brutal and callous act”.

He added: “It was a real-life horror film for everyone connected to Mr Johal and everyone who had the misfortune of witnessing your wicked act.”

The court heard Nur was known to police in Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and Luxembourg when he arrived in the UK, including for offences such as assault and robbery.

CCTV of the killing was played to the court, with distressed family members of Mr Johal having to leave the room in tears.

Prosecutor Louis Malby KC said Nur also told Migrant Help he would go live on social media to “talk about how rubbish the UK is”.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, said: “Our thoughts remain very firmly with the loved ones of Gurvinder Johal, after his horrific murder.

“This was a terrifying and shocking incident, which we will not tolerate. Any foreign national who commits a heinous crime on the streets of Britain will face justice and then be subject to removal from our country.”