Who is Michael Adebolajo and where is he now?
MICHAEL Adebolajo has been branded Britain's most dangerous prisoner after his heinous crime alongside Michael Adebowale.
He is serving life in prison for the crime against British Army soldier, Fusilier Lee Rigby.
Who is Michael Adebolajo?
Michael Adebolajo was born to a Christian family of Nigerian descent in Lambeth, London, where he attended Marshalls Park School before going on to the University of Greenwich.
The murderer converted to Islam in 2003, according to jailed hate preacher Anjem Choudary, and was linked to the banned organisation al-Muhajiroun.
Three years later he was arrested outside the Old Bailey during a protest over the trial of Islamic activist Mizanur Rahman.
In 2009, Adebolajo spoke at a protest against the English Defence League and a year later was arrested in Kenya on suspicion of trying to train with the Al-Shabaab terror group.
Three years after his failed bid to train with al-Qaeda linked terrorists in Africa, he would butcher a British soldier on the streets of his hometown.
How did Adebolajo murder Lee Rigby?
Rigby was returning to Woolwich barracks after working at the Tower of London when he was spotted by his killers in Wellington Street at around 2.20pm on May 22, 2013.
As he crossed the road, the pair spotted his Help 4 Heroes hoodie and mowed him down in the car.
The killers then leapt out of the vehicle and began stabbing and hacking at Rigby's body with knives and a meat cleaver in an assault so fierce they almost decapitated him.
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Adebolajo told onlookers to call the police and urged them to film him as he launched into a rant, his hands soaked in Rigby's blood.
The pair waited for armed cops to arrive, then charged at the patrol car hoping to be martyred. They were both shot and injured.
A friend later said Adebolajo, then 28, had complained of being repeatedly quizzed by MI5 and turned down an offer to spy for them.
Michael Adebowale, then 22, was said to have been heavily influenced by the more forceful Adebolajo and was also said to have studied at the University of Greenwich.
In December 2013 both men were found guilty of murder.
Adebolajo was given a whole-life tariff.
Adebowale was jailed for a minimum of 45 years.
Has he ever apologised for his savage crime?
The killer finally admitted his guilt and expressed "regret" in a bombshell jail confession in June 2018, adding that he plans to write a letter of apology to the soldier's family.
Sources say his U-turn was "astonishing", saying the killer finally acknowledged that he had taken an innocent life.
Adebolajo expressed his new-found remorse to prison staff and a fellow inmate.
The jihadi, who cited the Quran moments after the 2013 atrocity, has also admitted he “misinterpreted” Islam’s holy book.
In a further desperate shift from his radical ways, he has asked to be known as Michael after years of insisting he be called Mujahid Abu Hamza.
The former Christian told prisoners he now rejects his extremist views and admits to being “brainwashed”.
He added that his attack on Rigby was “a misguided attack on an institution”.
Where is Michael Adebolajo now?
Adebolajo was given a whole life order in 2014 for the brutal slaying of Rigby.
After his sentencing, it was reported that Adebolajo looked at the press in court and kissed his Quran while being escorted to prison.
Adebolajo is now serving his sentence at HMP Woodhill, near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
He has since declared his actions on that fateful day of being “misinterpreted” due to brainwashing from the Quran.
Both Adebolajo and Adebowale have attempted to reduce their sentences, however this was rejected by the courts
In 2022, Adebolajo was banned from attending yoga classes in prison due to fears he might spread extremism among inmates.
He admitted to being “gutted” by the ban as he hoped the sessions could help “improve his mental health”.