Nigeria’s president Bola Tinubu has sent a high-power delegation to London, United Kingdom, to negotiate the case of Ike Ekweremadu, a former deputy senate president, jailed in the UK since March 2023.
The delegation comprises of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
The team arrived in London on Monday and met with officials of the UK’s ministry of justice.
According to TheCable, Tuggar’s spokesperson, Alkasim Abdulkadir, revealed that the presidential delegation was in London to consult with the UK authorities to explore possibilities of Ekeweremadu serving the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu, hiw wife and daughter were arrested by the London Metropolitan Police in June 2022, after a man was falsely presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free hospital in London as a cousin to their daughter Sonia, in what turned out a failed attempt to persuade medics to carry out an £80,000 transplant.
The 21-year-old man, who was allegedly promised work in the UK, reported the matter to the police in May of the same year, stating that he was brought to the country for an organ transplant.
In March 2023, the ex-senate president was found guilty of organ trafficking by a UK court.
Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor involved in the case, were also found guilty.
It was the first verdict of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was handed a 10-year prison term.
In his judgment, Jeremy Johnson, the trial judge, ruled that Beatrice should spend half of the sentence in custody and on licence for the rest of the sentence.
In January this year, Beatrice was released from prison and returned to Nigeria.
