Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, alongside his wife, Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, were, yesterday, denied bail and remanded in custody by a United Kingdom court over allegation bordering on organ trafficking and harvesting. Organ harvesting involves removing parts of the body, often, for commercial gain and against the victim’s will.
The UK Metropolitan Police formally charged Ekweremadu and his wife with conspiracy to facilitate the travel of another person for organ harvesting in the UK.
The two were arrested and charged over their plan to bring a child into the UK to allegedly harvest the said child’s organs.
The charges involve arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting, according to a Met statement, yesterday.
The victim, whose travel was facilitated to UK by the suspects, was said to be a homeless 15-year-old boy picked from the streets of Lagos under false pretense. The statement added that the investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022.
The BBC reported that when the suspects appeared at the Uxbridge magistrates court in West London and were asked by the clerk for their address, they both replied: “Nigeria”.
The case has been adjourned to July 7 while Ekweremadu and his wife will remain in custody after their bail applications were denied.
Police, however, said the child has been safeguarded but did not disclose the gender or the age of the child or the location of the arrests.
Unconfirmed report, however, had it that the duo has a child that needs kidney transplant, but the couple did not follow due process in transporting the victim to the UK to donate his kidney for the sick child.
Another report suggested that the Senator, who represents Enugu West Senatorial zone, having found a willing donor made travel preparations for the unnamed person and wrote to the British High Commission explaining the situation.
“The donor travelled to the UK with the patient (Ekweremadu’s daughter) but the organ did not match. Not wanting to return to Nigeria, the donor went to report that he was trafficked to London for possible organ harvest, believing same would guarantee him asylum,” Ikem Okuhu, a journalist and public relations expert explained.
