Categories: Headlines

Ekweremadu, Wife, Doctor Found Guilty Of Organ Trafficking

 

A former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; his wife Beatrice and their doctor have been convicted of organ trafficking, in the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.

Ekweremadu, 60; his wife, Beatrice, 56; and Dr Obinna Obeta, 51, were found guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to Britain with a view to his exploitation after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey.

However, the lawmaker’s daughter, Sonia, was cleared by the court.

The jury said Ekweremadu, his wife and their doctor criminally conspired to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to exploit him for his kidney.

 

 

The prosecutor Hugh Davies KC told the court the Ekweremadus and Obeta had treated the man and other potential donours as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward”. He said they entered an “emotionally cold commercial transaction” with the man.

The behaviour of Ekweremadu showed “entitlement, dishonesty and hypocrisy”, Davies told the jury.

He said Ekweremadu, who owns several properties and had a staff of 80, “agreed to reward someone for a kidney for his daughter – somebody in circumstances of poverty and from whom he distanced himself and made no inquiries, and with whom, for his own political protection, he wanted no direct contact”.

Davies added, “What he agreed to do was not simply expedient in the clinical interests of his daughter, Sonia, it was exploitation, it was criminal. It is no defence to say he acted out of love for his daughter. Her clinical needs cannot come at the expense of the exploitation of somebody in poverty.”

Ekweremadu, who denied the charge, told the court he was 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. Beatrice denied any knowledge of the alleged conspiracy. Sonia did not give evidence.

The judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson, will pass sentence at a later date.

Kayode Oyero

Disqus Comments Loading...
Share
Published by
Kayode Oyero

Recent Posts

Lizzo Says ‘I Quit’ After ‘Lies’ Told About Her

"I'm getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and…

25 mins ago

I Inherited $587m, N85bn Debt From El-Rufai’s Govt — Gov Sani 

The governor said he remained resolute in steering Kaduna to the path of progress using…

33 mins ago

Son Sends Tottenham Into Top Four, More Pain For Pochettino’s Chelsea

Spurs have now come from behind to win in four of their last five home…

52 mins ago

How Attending To Customers In My Grandma’s Store Exposed Me To Business — Awosika

The Founder of The Chair Centre Group and former Chairperson of First Bank of Nigeria…

2 hours ago

Obasanjo Calls On Nigeria’s Leaders To Be Selfless

He said the current economic realities require that those in authority make sacrifices and not…

2 hours ago

Security Operatives Exhume Three Corpses From Suspected IPOB Camp In Imo

The camp was allegedly operated by suspected members of the proscribed group and its militia…

2 hours ago