Former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu was yesterday handed a nine years and eight months jail term for organ trafficking by the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, United Kingdom.
Justice Jeremy Johnson of a London court handed down the jail term upon conviction of Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice and a UK based Medical Doctor, Obinna Obeta (who acted as the middleman) on March 23 of the said offence. The jury held that they conspired to bring a 21-year-old, at the centre of the matter, to London to exploit him for his kidney.
While Mrs Ekweremadu is to remain in a London prison for the next four years and six months, Dr Obeta, besides bagging a 10-year imprisonment, has his medical licence suspended.
However, according to Justice Johnson, after deducting the period already spent in detention, Ekweremadu will spend about 5/6 years in prison (2/3 of his 9+ year prison sentence) while his wife will spend about 2 years in prison (one half of her 4+ years in prison).
Ekweremadu and Beatrice were arrested last year in London for bringing a Nigerian into that country for the purpose of harvesting his organ for his sick daughter, Sonia.
They were also convicted for conspiring to exploit the victim, who fled and took refuge at a London Police station, on hearing that he would be returned to Nigeria upon being discovered as a "mismatch".
Justice Johnson in his verdict had described the Nigerian senator as the "driving force throughout", while Dr. Obeta was accused of targeting the potential donor who was said to be young, poor and vulnerable.
Ukpo was described as a poor street trader in Lagos
The verdict yesterday is the first of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of the UK.
The Ekweremadus were arrested by the London Metropolitan Police in June 2022.
They were alleged to have attempted to convince doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in London to perform an £80,000 transplant on the donor who was presented as the cousin of their daughter Sonia.
During the trial, Hugh Davies, the prosecutor, told the court that the Ekweremadus and Obeta had treated the man and other potential donors as "disposable assets - spare parts for reward".
He added that they entered an "emotionally cold commercial transaction" with the 21-year-old, offering him up to £7,000 in reward.
Although the couple apologised for claiming that the donor was a relative, they denied all accusations and maintained that they were the victim of a scam.
Obeta, who also denied the charge, claimed the man was not offered a reward for his kidney and was acting altruistically.
Sonia, Ekweremadu's 25-year-old daughter, did not enter any defence after presenting the court with a medical report claiming she is unfit for trial. She was not convicted. Sonia, 25, shed tears as she was cleared of the same charge after jurors deliberated for nearly 14 hours.
Between the conviction and sentencing, notable personalities around the world including former President Olusegun Obasanjo appealed to the UK government to be lenient with the Ekweremadus.
The senate, house of representatives, International Human Rights Commission (IHRC), as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament, also asked the UK court to "temper justice with mercy" and consider valuable contributions made by the lawmaker in Nigeria and West Africa.
In Britain, it is legal to donate a kidney, but not for financial or material reward.
It was the first-time organ harvesting conspiracy charges had been brought under the UK's 2015 Modern Slavery Act.
Detective Inspector Esther Richardson, from the Metropolitan Police's Modern Slavery and Exploitation Command, called it a "landmark conviction" and thanked the victim for his "bravery" in coming forward.
During the weeks-long trial, the 21-year-old victim from Lagos, who cannot be named for legal reasons, testified that the Ekweremadus had flown him to Britain to harvest his kidney.
The kidney was said to be intended for Sonia, who remains on dialysis with a renal condition, in return for up to £7,000 ($8,800).
The man said he had been recruited by a doctor working for the politician, and had thought he was coming to the UK to work.
He only realised it was for a kidney transplant when he was taken to London's Royal Free Hospital last year, the court was told.
He fled and slept on the streets for three days after doctors there told him he would not be a suitable donor following preliminary tests and the Ekweremadus' move to return him to Lagos.
He eventually walked into a police station in May 2022 and said he was "looking for someone to save my life", the court heard.
The trial judge agreed with prosecutors that he could try to flee the UK. His wife and daughter had been out on conditional bail.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Joanne Jakymec said it was a "horrific plot", accusing the well-connected defendants of showing "utter disregard for the victim's welfare, health and wellbeing".
Around 20 people a day in Britain are diagnosed with kidney failure, necessitating prolonged dialysis treatment, and around 7,000 are waiting for a transplant from a suitable donor.
Informed consent is "a vital part of the organ donation programme" and thorough checks are made to ensure "no coercion", Fiona Loud, policy director at the charity Kidney Care UK, told AFP.
Voluntary donors engage in "an act of great generosity", she said.
Ekweremadu has represented the Enugu West for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party since 2003.
My Body Not For Sale, Says Organ-Harvesting Victim
The victim in the centre of Ekweremadu's organ harvesting saga has said he is "not for sale".
The victim, who cannot be named because of legal reasons, claimed he was lured to the United Kingdom under the pretense of job opportunity in the country.
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The victim said this in his impact statement which was read in court yesterday.
In the statement, the victim revealed his humble background in a Lagos village where he said he is the oldest of seven siblings living in a home without electricity or running water.
He was forced to become a street trader full time, moving to the city to provide for his family when his father fell ill with a heart problem. He sold mobile phone accessories from a wheelbarrow making at most £7 a day and as little as 50p, the report added.
He said he was approached with an opportunity to work in the UK, something he had "always dreamed of but never thought would happen."
However, he said he was shocked to discover the reason for the trip was to harvest his organ to give to Ekweremadu's daughter, Sonia.
"He (Dr Obinna Obeta) did not tell me he brought me here for this reason, he did not tell me anything about this. I would have not agreed to any of this, my body is not for sale," the victim said.
He added that he could not return to Nigeria because he worries for his safety. The victim claimed someone visited his father in Nigeria and asked him to get the victim, his son, to drop the case.
"I worry for my safety in Nigeria; those people can do anything. I think they could arrest me or kill me in Nigeria," he added.
He told the police he did not want to claim compensation from the "bad people" as it would be "cursed and bad luck", the report added.
