Nigerian delegation arrives in the UK with request that Ekweremadu be allowed to return home

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has sent a high-level delegation to London to request that former deputy senate president Senator Ike Ekweremadu be allowed to serve the remainder of his prison sentence for organ trafficking in Nigeria.

In March 2023, Senator Ekweremadu, 63, began serving a nine year sentence after he was found guilty of organ trafficking.  In June 2022, the firmer deputy senate president and his wife Beatrice, were arrested by the London Metropolitan Police 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 later turned out to be a failed attempt to persuade medics to carry out an £80,000 transplant, the man in question was found out to have been paid to donate his kidney. Senator Ekweremadu was subsequently arrested and convicted for his role in organ trafficking after attempting to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street vendor to Britain for a kidney transplant for Sonia.

Apparently, the 21-year-old man, who was promised work in the UK, reported the matter to the police, stating that he was brought to the country for an organ transplant. In March 2023, Senator Ekweremadu was found guilty of organ trafficking by a UK court and was later sentenced to nine years and eight months under the UK Modern Slavery Act.

His wife, Beatrice, received a four-year and six-month sentence but was released early in 2025 and has since returned to Nigeria, while a medical intermediary, Dr Obinna Obeta, was handed a 10-year prison term. This case drew widespread attention, sparking diplomatic discussions between Nigeria and the UK, exposing gaps in transplant regulations and prompting further investigations in the UK.

Yesterday, President Tinubu has sent a delegation, which included foreign minister Yusuf Tuggar, and attorney-general Lateef Fagbemi, to London to discuss the possibility of Senator Ekweremadu being allowed to return home and serve the rest of his sentence in Nigeria. This delegation was received at the Nigerian high commission in London by the acting high commissioner to the UK, Ambassador Mohammed Maidugu.

Foreign ministry spokesman Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the consultations with UK authorities are ongoing. He added that a formal request for a prisoner transfer to allow Senator Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria has been submitted.

Mr Abdulkadir said: “Consultations are still ongoing with UK authorities on the matter. An appeal for a prisoner exchange for him to serve the remainder of his term in Nigeria was tabled before the United Kingdom authorities.”