DigDat whose real name Nathan Tokosi, 26, was jailed for life after firing bullets at a man in close range – the blood-soaked victim survived being blasted in the head, mouth and body
Rapper Nathan Tokosi, who performs under the moniker DigDat, has been handed a life sentence following a drive-by shooting that left his victim with horrific injuries.
Daniel Offei-Ntow, 27, was blasted six times in the head, mouth and body whilst sitting in his car in Notting Hill, west London, during the early hours of November 20 2023.
On Tuesday, Tokosi, 26, from Deptford, south-east London, was caged for life with a minimum stretch of 24 years after being found guilty of attempted murder and firearms charges across two trials last year.
The court heard how Tokosi had racked up eight previous convictions covering 13 offences, including violent crimes stretching back to age 11 when he hit a girl in the face and battered a boy with punches and knee strikes in two separate incidents just four months apart.
At just 13 years old, the defendant knifed a victim in the ribcage during a confrontation, leading to an attempted murder conviction and a seven-year youth detention sentence plus three years on extended licence.
In his defence, the court was told Tokosi was a “laidback” young man who got swept up in his musical success and the “fast-paced and chaotic” lifestyle that came with it.
Shannon Revel, defending, explained: “He described that his job as a rapper effectively became an existence, rather than something that he could take time off from.
“Rising to success so quickly” left Tokosi with no proper opportunity for self-reflection, she argued.
After receiving an ADHD diagnosis at age 11, Tokosi had “struggled” with his conduct at school, she added. During sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Sarah Munro KC declared she had no doubt he posed a dangerous threat.
Tokosi, whose solo track Air Force reached number 20 in the UK singles chart in 2018, had family members present in court for support. He gestured towards the public gallery with a phone motion as sobbing could be heard whilst he was taken down.
Earlier, prosecutor Kate Bex KC told the court the defendant was among at least two individuals in a stolen Audi that drew up alongside Mr Offei-Ntow’s car.
A minimum of six rounds were discharged from a rear passenger window, striking Mr Offei-Ntow in the head, mouth and torso, and he was “lucky not to die”, Ms Bex stated.
Armed response units arrived swiftly and discovered the victim’s Mitsubishi Outlander peppered with bullet holes and the cabin drenched in blood.
Officers traced a blood trail and found Mr Offei-Ntow had made it back to his flat where he sat on a sofa “in shock and severely injured”, the court heard.
Police dogs retrieved a latex glove and a black bag containing a firearm and three rounds of ammunition close to where the Audi was ditched.
Additional investigations revealed that Tokosi had borrowed a BMW to make two journeys on back-to-back nights from his father’s residence in Deptford, south-east London, to Notting Hill that weekend, the jury was told.
Ms Bex stated it was evident Tokosi was implicated in the shooting and there was no “innocent explanation” for the BMW and the Audi being present at the same west London spot. Forensic experts discovered DNA from both Tokosi and artist Kamal Benjamin, who goes by the name Wesson, inside the Audi vehicle used during the shooting incident.
However, additional evidence, including Mr Benjamin’s social media activity from Dubai, proved he had departed the UK several days earlier.
Mr Benjamin shared an Instagram video featuring Lil Durk, who had performed in Dubai four days prior to the shooting.
A subsequent post the next month revealed him at a nightclub alongside rapper 50 Cent, who had performed in Dubai on December 21 2023.
During his attempted murder trial last February, Tokosi was also found guilty of possessing a self-loading pistol and ammunition with intent to endanger life and possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition.
After a second Old Bailey trial in November, Tokosi received an additional conviction for possessing a firearm and ammunition on February 4 2024.
Helen Shaw, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was an utterly mindless attack which very nearly claimed a life.
“That night, Nathan Tokosi clearly intended to kill his victim by shooting him in the head at a close range, with CCTV revealing Tokosi doing several drives around the area in a stolen Audi in the days and hours before the shooting.
“The Crown Prosecution Service was determined to ensure Tokosi was prosecuted for the full extent of his offending, and we hope today’s sentence will offer some closure to the victim’s family.”