Alleged Organ Harvesting, Ekweremadu Returns To Court After 42 Days In Detention

Ike Ekweremadu, a former deputy senate president who has spent the past 42 days in UK custody, will continue to testify in his trial on Thursday.
On June 23, the London Met Police detained Mr. Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu, in the UK and accused them of conspiring to bring a child into the country for the purpose of harvesting organs.

The couple’s daughter has a kidney disease and has been receiving dialysis for a while, according to the prosecutors. They continued by saying that they think the intention was to give their daughter, who requires a kidney transplant, a boy’s organ.

In a turn of events, David Nwamini (alleged victim of trafficking) told doctors he was 15 and was coerced by the Ekweremadus into donating his kidney.

However, the Nigerian government said all its records show that Mr Nwamini was not a minor and was 21 years old.

The Westminster Magistrate Court in the United Kingdom later ruled that he is not a minor.

The Ekweremadus are facing charges of conspiring to traffick a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The case was transferred to Central Criminal Court in London popularly known as Old Bailey where Mrs Ekweremadu was granted bail on stringent conditions. But the senator was denied bail because he was said to be a flight risk.

The trial preparation hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday and a subsequent trial next year.

Obinna Obeta, a Nigerian doctor practising in the UK, has been charged with plotting with the Ekweremadus to traffic a man into the UK to harvest a kidney for their daughter.

Mr Obeta appeared before Bexley Magistrates’ court on 13 July and is charged under the Modern Slavery Act with arranging the travel of a 21-year-old man between August 2021 and May 2022 to exploit him.