Fred Harrison, Abuja
The daughter of former Deputy Senate President, Sonia Ekweremadu, has appeared in a UK court for alleged trafficking of a homeless man into the United Kingdom for the purpose of harvesting his organs for herself.
The Daily Mail of UK reported on Monday that Sonia Ekweremadu, 25, is standing trial alongside her father Ike Ekweremadu, 60, her mother, Beatrice Ekweremadu, 56, and 50-year-old doctor, Obinna Obeta.
The three members of the family are charged alongside their doctor of a conspiracy to transport a homeless man to the UK for the purpose of exploiting him.
The UK police is alleging that the four people conspired with one Isaac Ekweremadu to facilitate the movement of a 21 year old with a motive to exploit him between August 1, 2021 and May 5 2022.
The prosecutors are alleging that the accused persons and others facilitated the travel of the man from Lagos to London with the intent to remove one of his kidney for a transplant operation for Sonia who suffers renal failure.
The trouble with the Ekweremadu’s started when the 21 year old David Ukpo went to the police in the UK to report that he was a victim of human trafficking.
According to the prosecutors, the suspects were charged for planning to remove the kidney of an underaged boy at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North West London, for transplant to their daughter who suffers from kidney failure.
The boy on 5 May 2022, presented himself at Staines Police Station and alleged that he was moved into the United Kingdom for the purpose of having his kidney transplanted to the daughter of the defendants.
“He arrived on 20th February 2022 and was taken to Royal Free Hospital where tests were conducted. For the purpose he was there he did not consent to the taking of his kidney.
“He returned to the house he was staying and his treatment changed dramatically. He described being treated effectively as a slave,” Prosecutor Tim Probert-Wood had said.
The boy identified as David Uwamini Ukpo was said to have escaped from the house where he was kept and stayed in the streets for three days before going to the police to tell his story.
Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice were arrested on June 21, as they flew into the UK’s Heathrow Airport from Turkey.
While Ekweremadu’s wife and Sonia were granted bail, he and Obeta are on remand in HMP Wandsworth and HMP Belmarsh respectively.
While Ekweremandu battles for his freedom in the UK a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered an interim forfeiture of 40 landed properties belonging to him.
The interim forfeiture order covers 10 Ekweremadu’s properties in Enugu, three in the United States of America (USA), two in the United Kingdom (UK), one in Lagos, nine in Dubai, and 15 located in the Federal Capital Territory.
The trial Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo made the order following an ex-parte motion marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/1242/2022 filed and moved by Ibrahim Buba on behalf of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
