Ekweremadu, Wife and Doctor Jailed for Organ Trafficking

Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice Ekweremadu has been sentenced to jail for organ trafficking.

Mr. Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison and his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, while a doctor who allegedly conspired with them, Obinna Obeta was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Mr. and Mrs. Ekweremadu wanted a new kidney for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia. The couple took the victim, a 21-year-old poor street trader in Lagos, to UK to provide a kidney for their daughter. He allegedly fled for his life and walked into a police station a year ago to report the incident.

Mr. Ekweremadu, according to BBC, was described by the judge as the “driving force of the crime.” His wife was given a lesser sentence due to her limited involvement, the judge ruled. The conviction is the first under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The sentencing came after pleas from multiple prominent personalities and institutions, including former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

According to BBC, the victim said he only realized what was planned when he met doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in London who began discussing a kidney transplant. He told the court he would not have agreed to it, saying “my body is not for sale.”

The victim is now reportedly being helped by a charity in the UK, said his lawyer in Nigeria.

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