The United Kingdom has declined Nigeria’s request to allow former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to complete his prison sentence in Nigeria, effectively keeping him in a UK correctional facility.
Ekweremadu, 63, was convicted in 2023 for conspiring to exploit a young man for his kidney, a plot devised to secure a transplant for his ailing daughter at a private NHS hospital. His wife, Beatrice, and an associate, Dr. Obinna Obeta, were also implicated in arranging for the victim to be trafficked to London under false pretences.
Prosecutors said the plan involved presenting the victim as a cousin who had willingly agreed to donate his kidney in exchange for £80,000, with the procedure scheduled to take place at the Royal Free Hospital.
Ekweremadu is currently serving a nine-year, eight-month sentence following his conviction for organ harvesting.
Last week, a Nigerian delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar met officials at the UK Ministry of Justice to request that Ekweremadu be permitted to serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria.
However, according to The Guardian (UK), a source within the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the request had been rejected. The UK government reportedly expressed concerns that Nigeria could not provide sufficient guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence if transferred.
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law,” the MoJ source reportedly said.
With the rejection of the request, Ekweremadu will remain in the United Kingdom to serve out the rest of his prison term.
