The UK government has turned down a Nigerian request to deport Ike Ekweremadu, a former senior Nigerian politician convicted of organ trafficking. The decision was confirmed by a source at the Ministry of Justice, who stated that the request was rejected due to concerns that Ekweremadu might not serve the remainder of his sentence if transferred to Nigeria.
Ekweremadu, 63, who previously served as deputy president of the Nigerian senate, is serving a nine-year-and-eight-month sentence after being found guilty in 2023 of conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney. His wife, Beatrice, and a co-conspirator, Dr Obinna Obeta, were also convicted in a case that marked the first conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act.
The plot involved trafficking a young man from Nigeria to London with the intention of harvesting his kidney for a transplant to Ekweremadu's daughter, Sonia. The procedure was planned at a private unit of an NHS hospital. However, the transplant was rejected by the hospital in March 2022, and the incident was not reported to the police. The case came to light only when the victim fled to the authorities, fearing for his life.
A Nigerian government delegation, led by Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar, met officials at the Ministry of Justice last week to request Ekweremadu's deportation. The UK government, however, emphasised that any prisoner transfer is at its discretion and requires careful assessment to ensure it serves the interests of justice. A government spokesperson reiterated that the UK will not tolerate modern slavery and that offenders will face the full force of UK law.
Beatrice Ekweremadu, who was sentenced to four years and six months, was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria. Dr Obeta, who received a ten-year sentence, remains in custody. The judge in the case, Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson, described the organ trafficking as a 'despicable trade' and said it treated human beings as commodities to be bought and sold.
