The United Kingdom has rejected Nigeria’s request to deport former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is currently serving a nine-year, eight-month sentence for organ trafficking.
Ekweremadu, 63, was convicted in 2023 for conspiring to exploit a young man by harvesting his kidney for a transplant intended for his ailing daughter, Sonia.
A high-level Nigerian delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, met officials of the UK Ministry of Justice last week to negotiate Ekweremadu’s transfer to Nigeria to complete his jail term.
However, UK authorities turned down the request, citing concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee the continuation of his sentence after deportation.
Sources within the Ministry of Justice stressed that the UK maintains a firm stance against modern slavery, insisting that offenders must face the full weight of British law.
The Ekweremadu case was historic, marking the UK’s first organ-trafficking conviction under the Modern Slavery Act.
Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, who was sentenced to four years and six months, had already served half of her term and was released earlier this year.
Their co-conspirator, Dr. Obinna Obeta, was also convicted for his role in the scheme that brought the victim to London.
In his judgment, Justice Jeremy Johnson described the plot as a “despicable trade,” condemning Ekweremadu as the “driving force” behind an operation that sought to treat a human being “as a commodity to be bought and sold.”
The ruling underscored what the judge called a dramatic fall from grace for the once-influential lawmaker.