A young Nigerian, Samuel Ezekiel, has recounted how his friend allegedly changed his identity to “Hassan Abubakar” before he underwent kidney removal at Wellington Hospital in Life Camp, Abuja.
Ezekiel also alleged that after he was paid in dollars for the procedure, he handed the money to his friend, Emmanuel Udeh, who allegedly exchanged the cash and spent part of it on mobile phones, power banks and Wi-Fi devices.
He made the allegations while speaking to journalists on Friday during the Nigeria Police Force’s parade of suspects linked to an alleged organ-harvesting syndicate operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
Ezekiel said Udeh initially told him they were going to a hospital and that he trusted his friend enough to follow his instructions.
“It’s my friend that deceived me. His name is Emmanuel Udeh,” Ezekiel said.
According to him, Udeh later introduced him to another man, identified as David, who took him to an agent known as Ben for medical tests.
Ezekiel said his initial test results did not match those of the intended kidney recipient, prompting the agent to inform them that another recipient had been found.
He said he was subsequently told that his kidney was a match for another person and was taken to Ben’s residence.
“Then he now said that they are going to change my name, that I will be bearing Hassan Abubakar,” Ezekiel said.
He said they were later taken to the Federal High Court, where an affidavit was prepared before they proceeded to Wellington Hospital.
“Then from there, they now took us to the Federal High Court, where they did the affidavit. Then from there, we now went to the hospital, Wellington Clinic,” he said.
According to Ezekiel, they signed documents at the hospital before he was taken into the operating theatre.
He said the payment was brought to them late at night, around 10pm or 11pm, shortly before he entered the theatre.
“After we sign, then later in the night around 10:00 to 11:00, they now come and give us money in dollars.
“After they give us the money, then when I wanted to enter the theatre, I gave Emmanuel the money to hold it,” he said.
Ezekiel alleged that after the procedure, Udeh had exchanged the money and spent part of it on electronic devices.
“After I gave him the money, when I came out from the theatre, then later in the evening, Emmanuel came back. He had already gone and changed the money,” he said.
He alleged that Udeh bought two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices, giving him one of each and keeping the others.
“He bought two phones, two power banks, and two Wi-Fi. Then he now gave me one and held one. Everything he bought, he gave me one and held one,” Ezekiel said.
The victim said they spent about a week in the hospital before being discharged, after which Udeh took him to a hotel, where they stayed for two days.
“Then we spent almost one week in the hospital. After they discharged us from the hospital, then Emmanuel now took me to a hotel for two days,” he said.
Ezekiel said Udeh subsequently took him to Cross River State, where they stayed for about three months.
“After the hotel, we spent two days, and then he now took me to his state in Cross River. We spent almost like three months in Cross River,” he said.
He said he later asked Udeh about the money he had received but was told it had been spent.
“Before I asked him, ‘Where is the money?’ He told me that the money had finished,” Ezekiel said.
According to him, Udeh later claimed they did not have money for transportation back to Abuja and allegedly sold his phone to raise the fare.
“Then he said that we don’t have transport for coming back. He collected my phone and sold it. Then that is how we had transport and came back to Abuja,” he said.
Asked whether he knew beforehand that his kidney would be removed, Ezekiel said he had been informed but claimed Udeh reassured him that the procedure would not cause him any problems.
“He just told me that it’s something that they will just, uh, convert it, that there’s not any issue in there, that if they convert it, I can do everything that I want to do, that I will not have any issue,” he said.
Ezekiel confirmed that he consented to the procedure, which he said took place at Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, on April 24.
He said he was paid in US dollars but could not recall the exact amount, only remembering receiving several $100 notes and a $50 note.
Asked how much he received, he said: “It’s 100, 100 dollars with one 50 dollar.”
He, however, said he could not state the exact amount.
The account comes as the police intensify investigations into an alleged organ-harvesting network operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The Force on Friday paraded several suspects, including two doctors and alleged recruiters, following a sting operation in the Auta Balefi area of Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The police identified Udeh as one of the suspects, alleging that he recruited victims for the organ-harvesting network.
Also paraded were Dr Benjamin Oyime, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital; Dr Daniel Otukpa, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at the hospital; and David Idoko.
According to the police, the syndicate allegedly targeted vulnerable young people and facilitated illegal kidney removals through forged documents and false representations.
The Force said investigations were ongoing to identify and arrest other members of the alleged network.
The case came to public attention after activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, said a young man had approached his NGO with medical records indicating that his left kidney was missing.
The police subsequently launched an investigation into the allegations, leading to the arrest and parade of the suspects.
