Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has pleaded with the authorities of the United Kingdom to be merciful to Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice.
Obasanjo made the plea in a letter dated April 3, 2023 the Chief Clerk,
Old Bailey, Central Criminal Court, London EC4M 7EH ahead of the scheduled sentencing of the Ekweremadus on May 5.
The Ekweremadus are convicted for conspiracy to arrange the travel of a 21 year old from Nigeria with with intent to harvest one of his kidneys for their daughter, Sonia, who is down with kidney failure
The former President said that while he is aware of the gravity of the offence for which the duo were convicted, the court should consider the status and good character of the former Deputy Senate President.
Obasanjo pleaded with the court to court to consider the cordial relationship between the UK and Nigeria because of his position as a serving senator.
He also pleaded for leniency for the Ekweremadus because of their daughter who is sick and needs attention.
Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice and Dr Obinna Obeta, were convicted in March 23 and are to be given prison terms on May 5.
The former Deputy Senate President, 60, his wife 56, and Obeta 50, were convicted for organ trafficking by a UK Court under the Modern Slavery Act for the first time.
The Judge, Justice Jeremy Johnson of the Old Bailey Court will pass pass a sentence on the trio on May 5.
The full letter reads,
The Chief Clerk,
Old Bailey,
The Central Criminal Court, London EC4M 7EH.
Dear Chief Clarke,
RE: IKE EKWEREMADU
I send you warmest greetings from Nigeria.
My dear Chief Clerk, may I seize this opportunity to commend your utmost dedication and resourcefulness which you have demonstrated with rare qualities of commitment and courage, while also upholding the cherished traditions of the Public Service.
I am Olusegun Obasanjo, a soldier commissioned into the British Army of the West African Frontier Force in 1958, and rose to the rank of a full General in the Nigerian Army. I received the surrender of the Biafran Army at the end of the Nigerian civil war. I was military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and elected President from 1999 to 2007.
It Is with great pleasure that I write in respect of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who I have known for over two decades. Within this period, have followed and watched, with keen interest, Ike Ekweremadu’s inspiring career which traversed private legal practice and public administration. I recall, with fond memories, the beginnings of our political and social relationship at the outset of our collective quest for democratic rebirth for our fatherland.
During my administration as a democratically-elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, Ike Ekweremadu and had close relationship and interactions as staunch members of our political party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and more so as he got elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003, of which he has since remained a member till date. Within this period of his service in the Nigerian Parliament, he has served as Deputy Senate President of the Senate and has headed so many Committees in various capacities and brought to bear his broad-based experience in legal practice and public administration. Sometime in 2009, he was appointed as the First Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and made to lead ad hoc Committee to work for the return of constitutional order in the Niger Republic.
I clearly remember that in the heady days of the keen contest for the presidential ticket of our Party early 1999, he joined other well-meaning Nigerians from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria to set aside extraneous considerations and ensured that South East unanimously adopted me for the Presidency. This was without regard to the fact that my closest competitor hailed from their part of the country.
I truly cherish his God-fearing, dispassionate, moderate and pan-Nigerian approach to national issues and developments, in our multi-ethnic, multi-religious geo-polity. He dedicates himself to the service of God and humanity and he continues to play visible roles in national development.
Through the Ikeoha Foundation, a non- governmental organization founded by him and his wife, in 1997, he and his wife have rendered a lot of charitable activities, enhancing poor people’s access to quality education and healthcare and building their capacity to participate in mainstream social, political and economic activities of their communities. Ike Ekweremadu’s conferment with the coveted national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR, is further testimony to his selfless service to our country, Nigeria.
Mr. Chief Clerk, I am very much aware of the current travails and conviction of Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the United Kingdom resulting from their being charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year old from Nigeria to the UK in order to harvest organs for their daughter. I do realise the implications of their action and I dare say, it is unpleasant and condemnable and can’t be tolerated in any sane or civilized society. However, it is my fervent desire that for the very warm relations between the United Kingdom and Federal Republic of Nigeria; for his position as one of the distinguished Senators in the Nigerian Parliament, and also for the sake of their daughter in question whose current health condition is in danger and requires an urgent medical attention, you will use your good offices to intervene and appeal to the court and the government of the United Kingdom to be magnanimous enough to temper justice with mercy and let punishment that may have to come take their good character and parental instinct and care into consideration. I do hope Mr. and Mrs. Ekweremadu have learnt from this distressing experience of theirs to guide their future actions or inactions so they will continue to be outstanding members of their community and will continue to contribute fully to the good of the society in particular and the nation in general.
Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.
Yours sincerely,
OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
Nigeria’s Military Head of State (1976-1979)
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999-2007)
