A man has been found guilty of murdering a man in New Cross in 2025. The conviction follows a thorough investigation by detectives, demonstrating the Met’s utmost commitment to tackling knife crime, serious violence and bringing dangerous offenders to justice.

On Thursday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court found Ben Wazabanga, 23, of Fairfax Road, Bedford, guilty of murdering 26-year-old Ayowale Aladejana.

Through extensive CCTV and phone analysis, officers were able to build a strong and compelling case. 

They established that Mr Wazabanga had turned against Mr Aladejana, his former business associate, over a money dispute. Fuelled by anger, he planned to confront him and armed himself with a knife, which he later used to kill Mr Aladejana.

On August 2, 2025, police were called to reports of a man with stab wounds at a residential address on Monson Road, New Cross. Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance, who treated Mr Aladejana. Despite their efforts, he died at the scene.

A post-mortem examination took place on August 3 and gave a preliminary cause of death as a stab wound to the chest.

The first officers at the scene conducted enquiries with both speed and precision. They trawled through local CCTV to identify the car that had parked outside Mr Aladejana’s home and fled shortly before police were called.

The vehicle details were widely circulated, and the car was later stopped by armed police near Waterloo Bridge in central London. Despite Mr Wazabanga running from the car with a knife in his hands, officers swiftly arrested him on suspicion of murder.

Further CCTV enquiries helped detectives piece together the series of events that led to the attack.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition revealed that Mr Wazabanga drove from Bedford to New Cross, a journey spanning 50 miles, to confront Mr Aladejana. Phone analysis also confirmed his grievance towards the victim and the plan he had formed.

Mr Wazabanga will be sentenced on July 13.

Detective chief inspector Lucie Card, who led the investigation, said, “This was a calculated and brutal attack, with Wazabanga driving a considerable distance in order to accost Aladejana at his home and cause him harm.

“Both the responding officers and subsequent detectives worked tirelessly, examining CCTV and phone data, to piece together the timeline that led to Aladejana’s death.

“This was a truly tragic and avoidable incident. We established that Wazabanga alone used the knife to kill Aladejana, and I hope that today’s conviction will bring Aladejana’s loved ones a measure of comfort as they continue to grieve his loss.”