The UK has declined a Nigerian request to transfer Ike Ekweremadu, a former senior Nigerian senator convicted of organ trafficking, to serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu, 63, a one-time deputy senate president and ally of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, was convicted in 2023 of conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney. He was sentenced to nine years and eight months. Prosecutors said Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice and Dr Obinna Obeta brought a young man to London with the intention of harvesting his kidney for Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia, and arranging the transplant in a private unit at an NHS hospital. The case was the first UK conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act.
A Nigerian government delegation led by foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar recently met officials at the Ministry of Justice to seek Ekweremadu’s transfer. A Ministry of Justice source confirmed the request was refused, reportedly because UK authorities were not satisfied Nigeria could guarantee the continued enforcement of his sentence after deportation. A government spokesperson said it could not comment on individual prisoners but noted that prisoner transfers are discretionary and subject to careful assessment of the interests of justice. Another source emphasised that the UK will not tolerate modern slavery and that offenders will face the full force of UK law.
Beatrice Ekweremadu, who was given a sentence of four years and six months with half to be served in custody, was released earlier this year and has returned to Nigeria. Dr Obeta was sentenced to 10 years, with two-thirds to be served in custody; prosecutors said he had earlier received a kidney at the same hospital from another man alleged to have been trafficked from Nigeria.
During sentencing, the judge condemned the plot as a despicable trade that treated people as commodities, identifying Ekweremadu as the driving force behind the scheme and noting his dramatic fall from public office.
The Old Bailey trial exposed weaknesses in parts of the UK health system that allowed the plot to proceed. In February 2022 the victim, referred to in court as C, was taken to a private renal unit at the Royal Free hospital after being presented falsely as a relative of the intended recipient and agreeing to what he thought was an £80,000 transplant. Although a medical secretary was bribed, hospital staff rejected the proposed transplant in March 2022 but did not report the incident to police. The victim later fled to police, saying he feared Obeta was preparing him for another transplant in Nigeria, which prompted the investigation.
Nigeria’s attempt to secure Ekweremadu’s transfer has attracted criticism domestically and raised questions about why the government has not pursued transfers for more than 230 other Nigerians imprisoned in the UK. Nigeria’s high commission in London has been contacted for comment.