The UK government has turned down a Nigerian request to deport a former senior politician convicted of organ trafficking.
Ike Ekweremadu, 63, a one-time deputy president of the Nigerian senate and ally of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, is serving nine years and eight months after being found guilty in 2023 of conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney. Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice and Dr Obinna Obeta trafficked a young man to London intending to harvest his kidney for Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia, and transplant it in a private unit of 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 request Ekweremadu’s transfer so he could serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria. 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 added that prisoner transfers are discretionary and follow a careful assessment of whether they are in the interests of justice. Another source said the UK would not tolerate modern slavery and that offenders would face the full weight of UK law.
Beatrice Ekweremadu, who received a four-year-six-month sentence with half to be served in custody, was released earlier this year and has returned to Nigeria.
In sentencing, Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson condemned the trio’s conduct as a “despicable trade,” saying the harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery that treats people as commodities. He identified Ekweremadu as the driving force behind the plot and said the conviction marked a substantial fall from grace.
The Old Bailey trial highlighted vulnerabilities and complacency in the UK health system to organ trafficking. In February 2022 the victim brought to London was taken to a private renal unit at the Royal Free hospital after being falsely presented as Sonia’s cousin and said to have agreed to an £80,000 transplant. Although a medical secretary was bribed, the Royal Free rejected the proposed transplant in March 2022, but staff did not report the matter to police.
The scheme only came to light when the victim, referred to as C in court, fled to police fearing Obeta was preparing him for another transplant in Nigeria. Obeta himself had received a kidney at the Royal Free in July 2021 from another man alleged to have been trafficked from Nigeria; he was sentenced to 10 years, with two-thirds to be served in custody.
Nigeria’s bid to have Ekweremadu deported has drawn criticism at home and prompted questions about why the Nigerian government has not sought to intervene for more than 230 other Nigerians imprisoned in the UK. Nigeria’s high commission in London has been contacted for comment.
