A UK court on Friday sentenced a Nigerian, Fawaz Abdulkareem to life in prison for fatally stabbing 30-year-old Daniel Manuel.

Prior to his sentencing to life imprisonment on Friday, Mr Abdulkareem, 36, was unanimously convicted of murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday, May 21.

The UK Metropolitan Police, in a statement on Friday, announced Mr Abdulkareem’s sentence after his trial was concluded.

It said that Mr Abdulkareem would “serve a minimum of 17 years” in prison before he could be released on parole.

Investigations showed that Abdulkareem, fatally stabbed his victim at his flat on Bondway following an argument over a debt he owed.

The police said Mr Abdulkareem lied he acted in self-defence and quickly threw away the weapon he used to stab his victim from the window of the 14th floor flat.

Detective inspector Luke Hampton who led the Met investigation, said “Daniel was murdered in a moment of extreme violence by a man he thought was his friend.”

According to the inspector, Mr Abdulkareem tried to deceive police, recklessly throwing the murder weapon from the window of the 14th floor of a tower block and cruelly claiming it was the late Daniel that attacked him.

“Met detectives saw through his lies and worked hard to secure a conviction. Abdulkareem’s claims of self-defence were dismissed by the jury,” Mr Hampton said.