Vigil for dead brother

Michael Abatan will spend five hours outside Brighton police station

The brother of a man killed in a fight outside a nightclub in Brighton is to hold a vigil on the fifth anniversary of his death.

Jay Abatan, 42, died five days after being punched to the floor in a suspected racist attack outside the Ocean Rooms in January 1999.

His brother Michael is staging the vigil outside Brighton police station to highlight half a decade of "injustice".

He will spend five hours outside the station in St John's Street from 0800 GMT with each hour marking a year that his brother has been dead.

I do not understand why they have not got justice for my brother Michael Abatan

Mr Abatan said: "I am personally appalled and disgusted that we have not got justice for Jay five years on."

Graham Paul Curtis, from Brighton, and Peter Bell, 38, from Hove were charged with manslaughter, but the case was dropped because of a lack of evidence.

Both men were then charged with affray causing actual bodily harm, but were acquitted at trial.

Mr Curtis committed suicide at his Brighton home in June 2003.

Jay Abatan was an accountant with two young children

Complaints were made by the Abatan family about the way Sussex Police led the investigation.

An independent inquiry was conducted by Avon and Somerset Police into the way the affair was handled.

The original team of detectives has since been reassigned and Mr Abatan has said he was happy with the progress of the inquiry.

He said: "The first inquiry was terrible but no-one believed us, the family, until we kept on and on and forced Sussex Police to order a review force in.

"Sussex Police insisted on doing the second investigation, which I think was just tying up loose ends.

"I do not understand why they have not got justice for my brother."

There is still a £175,000 reward for information leading to a conviction over the death of Mr Abatan who came from Eastbourne.