THE FAMILY of a man killed outside a nightclub are to hold a vigil to mark the 23rd anniversary of his death.

Crowds are expected to gather at Brighton police station in John Street at 2pm tomorrow to remember Jay Abatan, who died outside the Ocean Rooms nightclub in Morley Street, Brighton, in January 1999.

His brother Michael has spent the past 20 years battling to bring those responsible for Jay’s death to justice and is asking the public to join his family at the city centre vigil.

A spokesman for the family said: “23 years on, the family of Jay Abatan will hold a vigil on Saturday, January 29 to mark the 23rd anniversary of Jay’s death and call once again for justice, and for any witnesses to the attack to come forward.

“The vigil is to remember Jay Abatan, as with many of the vigils held by the family since his death.”

Jay and Michael had been out celebrating Jay’s promotion with PriceWaterhouseCoopers when they were attacked as they waited for a taxi.

Jay suffered multiple injuries after hitting his head on the pavement and died five days later in hospital. No one faced trial for his death.

There were two police investigations, but neither has led to a suspect being brought to trial.

In an interview with the Argus in 2019, Michael said he lost trust in Sussex Police after Avon and Somerset Police found failings in how the investigations were handled.

Michael believes there was more than one man involved in his brother’s death and said he has “never had a satisfactory answer” as to why he was killed.

He also believes the attack was racially motivated because of his family’s mixed-race heritage. His father is Nigerian.

Retired Chief Constable Nick May previously said the force has “apologised publicly and often for failings in 1999”.

He said the force had “completely updated and reorganised the way it investigates” crimes since the case.

He said officers were “committed to investigating any new information” if anything came to light but “there were no grounds to reopen an investigation in the absence of further evidence”.

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