Ekweremadu, wife, doctor, jailed for organ trafficking

Former Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice, 56, were sentenced to prison in the United Kingdom for organ trafficking.

Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, and their doctor, Obinna Obeta, were found culpable of violating the Modern Slavery Act.

The court found the trio 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.

They criminally conspired to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to exploit him for his kidney, the jury found.

The organ donor had been offered an illegal reward to become a donor for the senator’s daughter after kidney disease forced her to drop out of a master’s degree in film at Newcastle University, the court heard.

Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison; his wife, Beatrice, was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment; and Obeta received a ten-year prison term.

Justice Johnson told the defendants: “In each of your cases, the offence you committed is so serious that neither a fine nor a community sentence can be justified.”

The case marked the first time defendants have been convicted under the Modern Slavery Act of an organ harvesting conspiracy.