The British government has rejected Nigeria’s request to deport former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who is serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom for organ trafficking, The Guardian UK reports on Monday.
Ekweremadu, 63, was sentenced in 2023 to nine years and eight months in prison after a UK court found him, his wife Beatrice, and a medical doctor, Obinna Obeta, guilty of conspiring to exploit a young Nigerian man for his kidney. The organ was intended for their daughter, Sonia, at a private London hospital.
The conviction marked the first under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act for organ trafficking.
According to The Telegraph, Nigeria’s delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, met officials at the UK Ministry of Justice last week to request Ekweremadu’s transfer to Nigeria to serve the remainder of his sentence.
However, a Ministry of Justice source told The Guardian that the request was rejected due to concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence. The UK government emphasized that prisoner transfers are at its discretion following a careful assessment of the interests of justice. Another source added, “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
Beatrice Ekweremadu, who received a four-year, six-month sentence, has since been released after serving half her term and has returned to Nigeria.
During sentencing, Justice Jeremy Johnson described the trio’s actions as part of a “despicable trade” and said: “The harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery. It treats human beings and their bodies as commodities to be bought and sold.”
The judge described Ekweremadu as the “driving force” behind the plot and noted the case represented a “substantial fall from grace.”
The victim, identified in court as C, was taken to the Royal Free Hospital in London in February 2022 for a proposed £80,000 transplant. He was falsely presented as Sonia’s cousin volunteering a kidney. The hospital rejected the procedure in March 2022, despite an attempted bribe by a medical secretary, and did not report the case to police. The plot was exposed when the victim fled, fearing he would be taken to Nigeria for another attempt.
Obeta had previously received a kidney at the same hospital in 2021 from another allegedly trafficked donor. He is serving a 10-year sentence, two-thirds of which must be served in custody.
Nigeria’s attempt to secure Ekweremadu’s return has sparked criticism among Nigerians. PUNCH has not independently verified the Guardian report, and the Nigerian High Commission in London had not commented at the time of filing.
