When he is sentenced in Britain on Friday for conspiring to obtain a man’s kidney for his ill daughter, Nigeria’s former deputy Senate president could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Ike Ekweremadu, 60, was convicted guilty of conspiring to traffic the teenage street trader into Britain for a body part in March at London’s Old Bailey criminal court, marking the first instance of its sort in the United Kingdom.Beatrice, Ekweremadu’s 56-year-old wife, and Obinna Obeta, a 50-year-old doctor who served as the scheme’s middleman, were both found guilty. They will be sentenced on Friday as well.
Sonia, the 25-year-old daughter of the Ekweremadus, sobbed as she was acquitted of the same allegation following a nearly 14-hour jury deliberation.
Donating a kidney is permitted in Britain, but not in exchange for money or other tangible goods.
It was the first time accusations of an organ harvesting conspiracy had been made under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act from that year.
The law allows for a life sentence as the maximum punishment.
A “landmark conviction,” according to Detective Inspector Esther Richardson of the Metropolitan Police’s Modern Slavery and Exploitation Command, who also hailed the victim for his “bravery” in coming forward.
The 21-year-old victim from Lagos, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said throughout the trial’s weeks-long proceedings that the Ekweremadus had flown him to Britain to have his kidney harvested.
According to reports, Sonia, who is still receiving dialysis treatment for a renal ailment, would receive the kidney in exchange for up to £7,000 ($8,800).
The individual claimed he was hired by a physician who worked for the politician and had mistakenly believed he was traveling to the UK to find employment.
– ‘Utter disregard’ –
According to testimony given in court, he didn’t realize it was for a kidney transplant until he was brought to London’s Royal Free Hospital last year.
After preliminary testing revealed he would not be a qualified donor, he escaped and camped out on the streets for three days.
He eventually walked into a police station last May and said he was “looking for someone to save my life”, the court heard.
Lawyers for the four accused insisted he was acting “altruistically”, and Ike Ekweremadu told jurors that he feared he was being “scammed”.
Since 2003, Ekweremadu has served as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s representative for southeast Nigeria’s Enugu West seat.
This week, Nigerian parliamentary leaders pleaded for mercy before a London court, arguing that Ekweremadu was a first-time offender who had made significant contributions to West African politics.
Due to his detention before and during the trial, he did not run in the most recent elections for the National Assembly.
Prosecutors and the trial judge decided that he might attempt to leave the UK. His wife and daughter had been released on bail with conditions.
It was a “horrific plot,” said to Chief Crown Prosecutor Joanne Jakymec, who also charged the powerful defendants with having “utter disregard for the victim’s welfare, health, and wellbeing.”
Around 7,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant from a suitable donor, and about 20 people in Britain are diagnosed with kidney failure every day, necessitating prolonged dialysis treatment.
According to Fiona Loud, policy director at the nonprofit Kidney Care UK, informed permission is “a crucial component of the organ donation program” and careful checks are conducted to ensure “no coercion.”
Voluntary donors engage in “an act of great generosity”, she said.
AFP
