Nigeria’s request seeking to allow former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to complete his prison sentence in Nigeria has been rejected by the United Kingdom (UK).
Ekweremadu, 63, was convicted in 2023 for conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney, a plot intended to supply a transplant for his daughter in a private NHS facility.
His wife, Beatrice, and a co-conspirator, Dr. Obinna Obeta, arranged for a young man to be trafficked to London under false pretences.
Prosecutors stated that the plan involved a kidney transplant at the Royal Free Hospital, with claims that the victim was the patient’s cousin and had consented to the procedure for £80,000.
Ekweremadu is serving a nine-year and eight-month jail term in a UK facility after following his conviction in 2023 of plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man.
Last week, a delegation, raised by the Federal Government and led by the Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar held talks with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice to request that Ekweremadu serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria.
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However, according to The Guardian of UK, a source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected.
The news platforms reported that the UK government was concerned that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported.
The source reportedly said that: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
With this development, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
The Nation
