The United Kingdom has declined a request by the federal government to allow former deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, complete the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria. The move followed weeks of diplomatic engagement initiated by Abuja in a bid to secure a transfer agreement for the embattled former lawmaker.
Ekweremadu is currently serving a sentence in the UK after he was convicted for organ trafficking, a case that drew global attention and sparked nationwide debate in Nigeria. He was found guilty in March 2023 and subsequently handed a nine-year, eight-month prison term for conspiring to exploit a young man’s kidney.
Earlier this month, President Bola Tinubu dispatched a high-powered delegation to London to negotiate the possibility of returning Ekweremadu to Nigeria’s correctional system. The team was led by Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, and Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice.
However, the UK Guardian reported that the request met a firm rejection from British authorities. Citing an unnamed official of the ministry of justice (MoJ), the newspaper disclosed: “A source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected. It is understood the UK government was concerned that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported.”
The outlet further quoted the official as saying: “Any prisoner transfer is at our discretion following a careful assessment of whether it would be in the interests of justice.”
The official added a stern warning, stating: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
Ekweremadu’s ordeal began in June 2022 when he, his wife Beatrice, and their associate, medical doctor Obinna Obeta, were arrested by the London Metropolitan Police. Their arrest followed the discovery that a young man had been “falsely presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free hospital in London as a cousin” to their ailing daughter Sonia, in an attempt to facilitate an £80,000 kidney transplant.
The 21-year-old, who was allegedly promised job opportunities in the UK, later approached the police in May 2022, insisting that he had been brought into the country for an organ-harvesting scheme. His report triggered the investigation that culminated in the high-profile trial.
In March 2023, a UK court found Ekweremadu, his wife, and Obeta guilty of organ trafficking — the first conviction of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act. The landmark verdict further intensified scrutiny on cross-border organ trade.
On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months, while Beatrice received four years and six months, and Obeta was handed a 10-year prison term. In delivering judgement, trial judge Jeremy Johnson ruled that Beatrice “should spend half of the sentence in custody and on licence for the rest of the sentence.”
Beatrice was eventually released in January and has since returned to Nigeria, even as diplomatic efforts to secure a reprieve for her husband continue to face setbacks.
