Alleged Organ Harvesting: Ike Ekweremadu Back In Court
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Former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu is back in the West Minister Magistrates Court, the United Kingdom for the continuation of his trial.
Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice were arrested by the British police on June 23 on allegations of human trafficking and organ harvesting that violate the country’s Modern Slavery Act.
The police authorities had accused the lawmaker of conspiring to bring a child to the United Kingdom for organ harvesting, saying the victim is a 15-year-old boy.
READ ALSO: UK Police Arrest Ike Ekweremadu, Wife For Organ Harvesting
Giving an update from the court’s premises on Thursday, Channels Television’s correspondent, Juliana Olayinka, said there was a show of support from the Nigerian High Commission in the UK.
She said the lawmaker could either head to Nigeria to defend himself in court or still be remanded in UK police custody.
She explained that the lawmaker representing Enugu West Senatorial District has a sick child who had been suffering from kidney disease and needed a transplant.
“What we believe to be accurate is that the 15-year-old individual was taken off the street of Lagos by a criminal guy for the purpose of organ harvesting,” she said.
“I believe the Senator and his wife have a very ill child they wanted to use this individual’s organs to try and keep her alive, which if done properly, is legal. You are able to donate your organ but age and consent were key issues.
“There were consultations at the Royal Free Hospital in East London. The consultant said something is not right. They didn’t believe that this individual was the age on his document. They didn’t believe that he did consent to donate his organ.”
Just yesterday, the Federal High Court Abuja ordered the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to transmit the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata information of an alleged Minor to the Attorney General of the Federation for onward transmission to the UK to aid Ekweremadu’s trial.
The lawmaker’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, on July 27 urged Justice Inyang Ekwo to order the release of certain official documents of Ukpo domiciled with NIMC, Nigerian Immigration Service and Stanbic-IBTC Bank for the purpose of effectively defending Ekweremadu in the UK.
The prayers were granted by Justice Inyang Ekwo.