ORGAN HARVESTING SCANDAL:
British Govt Shuns Nigeria Plea for Mercy, Slammed former Deputy Senate President IKE EKWEREMADU 10 Years JAIL Term
…Wife, BEATRICE bagged 5 years, Doctor OBETA to spend 10 years behind bar after losing medical practice license
*‘I am the cause of my parents going to jail, I feel guilty, Can’t forgive myself’-Sonia Ekweremadu suffering kidney ailment
*‘I will be arrested and Killed in Nigeria if deported, I am begging for Asylum in the UK, I want to Go to School, Play Professional Football’-DAVID NWAMINI, organ-harvesting victim
*BY PROMISE OLUYEMI/JUDICIAL Reporter, London & GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICA Senior Investigative Editor
THE PLEAS MADE BY THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to the British Government to hand a lighter punishment and show mercy on IKE EKWEREMADU, a former Deputy Senate President in Nigeria, wife, BEATRICE and Dr. OBINNA OBETA, who lose his medical practice license fell on ‘deaf ears’ over their conviction for allegedly transporting DAVID NWAMINI, a Lagos bricklayer to the United Kingdom, UK, for the purpose of transplanting his kidney for Sonia, ailing daughter of the Ikweremadus suffering kidney failure.
A UK court has on Friday sentenced former deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu to nine years and eight months in jail for plotting to harvest a man’s kidney for his sick daughter. The organ was needed for Ekweremadu’s sick daughter, Sonia.
Meanwhile, Ekweremadu’s wife Beatrice was handed four years, six months sentence while Obinna Obeta, a medical doctor got a 10 years’ sentence for the same offence.
Recall the trio of Ekweremadu, Beatrice and Obeta were convicted of conspiracy to arrange the travel of a young Nigerian man who was identified as David Nwamini to Britain in order to exploit him for his kidney.
A UK court has on Friday sentenced former deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu to nine years and eight months in jail for plotting to harvest a man’s kidney for his sick daughter.
Their trial lasted for six weeks before he was finally convicted at the Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court today.
A UK court has on Friday sentenced former deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu to nine years and eight months in jail for plotting to harvest a man’s kidney for his sick daughter.
The victim in the centre of former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu’s organ harvesting saga has said he is “not for sale”.
A United Kingdom court on Friday sentenced Ekweremadu to a total of nine years and eight months imprisonment, and his wife, Beatrice, was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment for plotting to harvest a man’s kidney.
The third accomplice, a medical doctor, Dr Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Ekweremadu, his wife and Obeta were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to arrange the travel of the victim, a young man, with a view to exploiting him for his body part.
But 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.
The victim said this in his impact statement which was read in court on Friday, Independence UK reports.
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 organs 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.
The conviction is the first under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The sentencing comes after pleas from multiple prominent personalities and institutions, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ECOWAS.
Other petitioners included both chambers of the National Assembly; the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa; and the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC). The charges were preferred on the Ekweremadus on June 23, 2022, when their arrest was announced. Obeta was later arraigned on July 13, 2022. While his wife was granted bail, the senator was refused.
After months of a pre-trial, the trial commenced on January 31, 2023 and lasted about six weeks, culminating in a guilty verdict against Ekweremadu, Beatrice, and Obeta.
*I feel guilty my parents are jailed because of me-Sonia Ekweremadu
Sonia, daughter of a former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has expressed sadness and guilt over the sentencing of her parents in an organ-harvesting plot suit in the United Kingdom on Friday.
It was reported that a United Kingdom court on Friday sentenced Ekweremadu to a total of nine years and eight months imprisonment, while his wife, Beatrice, was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment for plotting to harvest a man’s kidney.
The third accomplice, a medical doctor, Dr Obinna Obeta, was jailed 10 years. Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, wanted a new kidney for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia.
In an interview with BBC after the court judgement on Friday, Sonia said she felt guilty about the whole situation.
“I don’t think it will ever be the same again. And obviously, I feel guilty because I feel like all these have happened because of me,” she said, while holding back tears.
On how her parents have handled their current reality, the 25-year-old who admitted that she can’t speak about what they truly feel, said they are “quite calm”.
The third accomplice, a medical doctor, Dr Obinna Obeta, was jailed 10 years. Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, wanted a new kidney for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia.
In an interview with BBC after the court judgement on Friday, Sonia said she felt guilty about the whole situation.
“I don’t think it will ever be the same again. And obviously, I feel guilty because I feel like all these have happened because of me,” she said, while holding back tears.
On how her parents have handled their current reality, the 25-year-old who admitted that she can’t speak about what they truly feel, said they are “quite calm”.
“They are quite calm, surprisingly. But I can’t really speak about what they are feeling. This is just from an outside perspective of me seeing them. They are okay, they are just neutral,” Sonia said.
On what she has learnt over the whole saga, Sonia said, “Life is just some dynamic. Like you’re one day in your house chilling and the next day your whole life is turned around, upside down.”
Speaking further on the court judgement, she added, “It’s sad. It’s been really hard to wrap my head around it. I understand the conviction. Personally, I disagree with it; however, that’s from a very biased perspective as their daughter, and I would obviously back my parents.
“However, the law has taken its course, and we just have to now move forward as a family.”
Asked about what she would be doing next, Sonia said, “My main focus is to try to help, specifically people with kidney conditions. This is just to show them they don’t need to be scared.
“I will continue to support my parents and siblings as well.”
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