Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, and their doctor were convicted of organ trafficking following a six-week trial at the Old Bailey.
The verdict is said to be the first of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act. Below is a timeline detailing the events leading up to the verdict.
Thursday Strife
Senator Ekweremadu and his wife (Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu) were apprehended by the London Metropolitan Police shortly after he withdrew from the governorship race in Enugu State.
The couple was arrested on June 23, 2022, for conspiring to bring a child to the United Kingdom for organ harvesting.
Met Police wrote, “Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55 (10.9.66) of Nigeria is charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another individual for the purpose of exploitation, specifically organ harvesting.
“Ike Ekweremadu, 60 (12.05.62) of Nigeria is charged with conspiring to arrange/facilitate the travel of another individual for the purpose of exploitation, specifically organ harvesting.”
Nigerians and many others around the world were eager to gain a complete understanding of the development, so the story quickly went viral and questions began to pour in.
What really transpired was one of the most important questions asked. Why would the Ekweremadus wish to exploit and harvest the organs of a child? Who is this child, and what is his or her gender and age? Could it be that the lawmaker’s identity was mistakenly reported?
The short answer to the previous question was…No!
The police were certain they had the correct suspects in custody, and the authorities stated unequivocally that the lawmaker and his wife would have to answer for their involvement in the human trafficking scandal.
The next day, the Ekweremadu family appeared in court.
Case postponed and Ekweremadu detained
Friday, June 23, 2022, at the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, where the Ekweremadu’s were arraigned, they pled not guilty to the charges brought against them.
After hearing their argument, Magistrate Lois Sheard adjourned the case until July 7. Due to the gravity of the case, the judge added, Ekweremadu and his wife were both remanded in custody prior to their hearing.
“Transplantation for a child”
A source familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Channels Television, stated that Ekweremadu’s child was suffering from kidney disease and required a transplant.
The source stated that a donor was obtained and sent to the United Kingdom for investigation in order to provide a kidney. However, according to the source, the kidney did not match the child of Ekweremadu.
According to the source, the donor subsequently refused to return to Nigeria and instead reported to the UK police to seek asylum.
The story sent shockwaves not only in Nigeria, but throughout the international community, and in the days that followed, Nigerians, friends, and colleagues began to discuss the issue.
Despite the widespread support for the lawmaker, some individuals and organizations began to distance themselves from Ekweremadus, including the University of Lincoln, which prohibited the former Deputy Senate President from performing further duties as a visiting professor.
The Ekweremadus were in dire need of clearing their name as a result of the avalanche of consequences this accusation was causing. In order to set the record straight, various aspects of the story needed to be verified and removed, beginning with the true identity of the child at the center of the storm.
Immigration verifies the age of the ‘victim’
The Nigerian Immigration Service solved the mystery surrounding the child’s age and identity.
According to the NIS, the victim of organ harvesting, David Nwamini, is a young man who was 21 years old at the time of the incident, contrary to earlier claims that he was 15.
The Comptroller General of NIS, Mr. Isah Idris, disclosed in a statement issued on June 27 that there was no age falsification on the passports issued by immigration, contrary to claims made by some, and that the agency followed the proper procedures.
Mr. Idris emphasized that insinuations that the NIS did not adequately review the victim’s documents presented by Nwamini are fabrications intended to tarnish the NIS’s reputation.
These statements by the NIS director sparked concern across the nation, with many sending messages of goodwill to the Ekweremadus and others claiming the alleged victim took advantage of the couple to claim asylum in the United Kingdom.
While the NIS document appeared on the surface to help Ekweremadu’s case, the British authorities were unmoved by the revelations; consequently, everyone anticipated the next time the case would be heard.
Senator Ekweremadu and his wife filed a lawsuit in Abuja’s Federal High Court against the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and two commercial banks in an effort to prove their innocence.
They petitioned the court for an order directing the NIMC to produce the Certified True Copy of David Ukpo Nwamini’s biodata.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Adegboyega Awomolo, who represented the lawmaker and his family, was of the opinion that Nwamini’s National Identification Number, which is in the possession of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), should be produced for the purpose of facilitating the criminal investigation and submitting it to establish his client’s innocence.
Case of “Modern Slavery” expedited
With a prominent Nigerian lawmaker being detained in the United Kingdom, even the Nigerian government was compelled to hire attorneys to defend the nation’s honor and argue for Ekweremadu’s innocence.
This increased pressure on the British government and all agencies involved in the case, resulting in a fast-tracked hearing on June 30.
The prosecutor stated at the hearing that David Ukpo Nwamini, who claimed he was forced to donate his kidney to the senator’s daughter, is 15 years old.
David was allegedly abducted from the streets of Lagos months ago by a criminal gang with the intent of harvesting his organs.
The court remanded Ekweremadu in custody because he is an influential person and a flight risk, and because the case involved a child and modern slavery.
The case was adjourned until July 7 at Westminster Magistrate Court so that the Attorney General of the United Kingdom, Suella Braverman, could decide whether the case will be tried in the United Kingdom or Nigeria.
Few days before the next hearing, the Abuja Federal High Court ordered the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to transmit the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata information of an alleged Minor in the Ekweremadus case.
The court also ordered two commercial banks to release the information in their possession to the couple, information that would greatly assist the Senator’s family in establishing that the victim was indeed eligible to donate an organ.
Organ donor not underage
The Ekweremadus returned to the West Minister Magistrates Court on July 7, 2022, to continue their trial.
The court determined at the rescheduled hearing that the kidney donor in the case of the former Vice President of the Senate and his wife is not a minor.
The prosecution conceded that the defendant is 21 years old, but no further concessions were made. The Ekweremadus pled not guilty to the charges brought against them, and the court set the date of the next hearing for August 4.
British physician accused of conspiring with Ekweemadu
A doctor was charged approximately two weeks after the hearing with conspiring with Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, to traffic a “man” into the United Kingdom in order to harvest a kidney for their daughter.
The doctor has been identified as Obinna Obeta, who reportedly lives in Southwark, south London.
In accordance with the Modern Slavery Act, he was accused of arranging the 21-year-travel old’s between August and May in order to exploit him.
In a separate charge, the doctor was accused of conspiring with the couple to arrange or facilitate the travel of the man for the purpose of organ harvesting.
Obeta, age 50, was initially brought to the Bexley Magistrates’ Court on July 13, and arguments were heard approximately 10 days later.
Bail accorded
In what appeared to be a ray of hope at the end of a dark tunnel, the UK court granted bail to Senator Ekweremadu’s wife.
The court granted her bail under fairly stringent conditions, but denied bail for her husband.
The couple was ordered to reappear in court on August 4, 2022, and this time, a London-based medical practitioner, Obinna Obeta, accompanied them.
After a brief hearing in which only Beatrice Ekweremadu appeared in person, the judge scheduled the beginning of the pre-trial for the week of October 31. On the proposed date, the lawmaker will appear via video link, according to the authorities.
It appeared that additional arrests would be made in connection with the organ harvesting case.
No application for bail (for the Senator) was made to the judge, and the lawmaker’s adult children were not present during the trial. Beatrice Ekweremadu, however, remained out on bail.
A bio-data suit/immunity comments declined
13 September, Ekweremadu petitioned the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss David Ukpo’s suit seeking to prevent the release of his biodata to the London Court in the alleged organ harvesting case.
Ekweremadu stated in a counter-affidavit that Ukpo has no reason to fear the release of his visa application information and bank account opening documents, unless he lied about his age.
In his counter-affidavit, Ekweremadu denied allegations that he requested Ukpo’s biographical information.
Rather, according to the witness, the Federal High Court ordered the release of Ukpo’s bank account opening package and the information contained in his visa application to London Court.
The British High Commission in Nigeria, meanwhile, declined to comment on the alleged organ harvesting case.
A representative of the British High Commission in Abuja stated that “the British Government and, consequently, the British High Commission in Abuja do not comment on ongoing legal matters.”
Additional problems at home
For Ekweremadu, abroad and at home, problems continued to arise. Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja ordered the interim forfeiture of forty landed properties belonging to the former Deputy Senate President while he was still in custody in the United Kingdom.
Following an ex parte motion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Justice Ekwo issued the order (EFCC).
In a brief ruling on the motion, the judge ordered the anti-corruption agency to publish the interim forfeiture order of the properties within seven days of the date the order was issued in a national newspaper.
Justice Ekwo demanded that anyone interested in the properties covered by the court’s interim forfeiture order indicate their interest within fourteen days of the order’s publication.
This decision elicited a variety of responses, with Ekweremadu himself accusing the EFCC of being responsible for his difficulties at the London court where he was being held.
Trial moved, bail denied
In short order, the Ekweremadus returned to court. The hearing on November 7, 2022 was nearly as brief as previous court appearances.
After brief deliberations, the Central Criminal Court in London moved the trial, and the Old Bailey agreed that arguments will be heard on the 16th or 19th of December 2022, with the trial beginning on January 31, 2023.
In the meantime, the court denied Ekweremadu’s bail appeal on December 21, 2022.
Ekweremadu’s attorney argued in the bail application that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and the Attorney-General of the Federal had written to the court stating that Ekweremadu was not a flight risk.
The attorney also argued that a guarantee to produce Ekweremadu if he posed a flight risk had been provided, and that the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom had offered the option of electronically tagging Ekweremadu to monitor his movements.
Regarding the attestation of Ekweremadu’s character by reputable Nigerians and organizations, his attorney argued that the lawmaker had proven himself to be a caring and responsible father and could not flee London, abandoning his wife and sick daughter.
The court denied Ekweremadu’s bail application after hearing the prosecution’s argument that he posed a flight risk, stating that the bail would not make much of a difference with the trial just one month away.
Returned to grey tracksuit top
On Tuesday, January 31, Ekweremadu and his wife returned to court, but their accused daughter was hospitalized and therefore unable to attend.
The lawmaker entered the Old Bailey court wearing a grey tracksuit top and replied “Yes, miss” when asked to verify his name.
The defendants allegedly intended to have the man’s kidney removed so that it could be donated to Sonia (Ekeweremadu’s daughter).
Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu, along with their 25-year-old daughter Sonia and doctor Obinna Obeta, were present on February 6 at London’s renowned Central Criminal Court for the official start of their trial.
At this time, it was implied that they would be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
In the United Kingdom, it is legal to donate a kidney, but not for compensation. The prosecution contends that the Ekweremadus committed a crime regardless of whether the Lagos street vendor consented or not.
On the 20th of February, the trial continued. The courtroom gallery was packed with eager observers of the proceedings in the temple of justice.
The victim stated through an interpreter that he arrived in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2022, to donate his kidney to Sonia Ekweremadu.
Prosecutors insisted that this act constituted modern slavery exploitation under British law.
The case was moved again.
I believed I was being defrauded.
Ike Ekweremadu testified in his defense on March 7 that he believed he was being conned during his search for a donor for Sonia.
He stated, however, that he could not withdraw from the process of bringing Ukpo because his daughter’s life was in danger and withdrawing would put her in danger.
“Everyone was obviously exploiting my daughter’s illness,” he emphasized.
Ekweremadu told the court that Sonia was pursuing a master’s degree at Newcastle University in December 2019 when she began experiencing “swollen limbs.”
Later, she was diagnosed with a “kidney problem,” which caused her “distress,” and she withdrew from her studies after “collapsing” in class.
Ekweremadu described his daughter’s deteriorating health as “terrifying,” adding, “Her medications weren’t working, so her condition was deteriorating.”
Attorneys for Ekweremadus and the physician told London’s central criminal court that the alleged victim acted “selflessly.”
Allegedly, the kidney was intended for Sonia, who remains on dialysis due to a renal condition, in exchange for up to £7,000 ($8,430) and the promise of a new life in Britain for the 21-year-old trader.
A physician’s advice
On March 10, the lawmaker stated in court for a second time that he attempted to purchase a kidney for his ailing daughter after receiving medical advice not to ask family members.
During cross-examination of the lawmaker, prosecutor Hugh Davies KC asked, “On the question of whether a family member could, in principle, act as a donor, you determined that this was not possible based on a reported conversation between your non-nephrologist brother and Dr. Obeta, who is also a non-nephrologist?”
Ekweremadu responded, “He would have had fundamental knowledge. I’m not a doctor, so I believe him if he says so.”
But Davies stated, “Instead of relying on second-hand information from non-nephrologists, all you had to do was ask one of the specialists you were consulting if a family member could donate a kidney.”
The prosecutor refuted Ekweremadu’s claim that he possessed “limited intelligence,” stating, “That is unbelievable. You do not lack intelligence.”
He is a gentleman.
Mrs. Beatrice Ekweremadu told the Old Bailey in London on March 14, 2023, that her husband is a good man whom she has come to trust.
In contrast, the victim testified that he was unaware that he was being transported to the United Kingdom for organ harvesting.
He added that he was only aware of the organ donation after consulting with private doctors at the Royal Free Hospital.
Guilty?
On March 23, the verdict was rendered. Former Vice President of the Senate, his wife, and their physician were convicted of organ trafficking.
The jury determined that Ekweremadu, his wife, and their doctor conspired to bring the 21-year-old street vendor from Lagos to London in order to exploit him for his kidney.
Sonia, the daughter of the lawmaker, was however exonerated by the court.
Hugh Davies KC, the prosecutor, told the court that Ekweremadus and Obeta treated the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – reward-based spare parts.”
He argued that the doctor engaged the young man from Lagos in a “emotionally cold business transaction.”
Davies told the jury that Ekweremadu’s behavior exhibited “entitlement, dishonesty, and hypocrisy.”
Ekweremadu denied the charges and allegations made against him, claiming he was the victim of a scam. Obeta, who also denied the charge, claimed the man was acting altruistically and was not offered a reward for his kidney.
Beatrice, Sonia’s mother, denied any knowledge of the alleged conspiracy, whereas Sonia did not provide any evidence.
The sentencing of the three defendants has been postponed until a later date, at which time the judge, Justice Jeremy Johnson, will issue the verdicts.
(TNT)
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