A 15-year-old who was reportedly transported to London from the streets of Lagos by the former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate and his wife was refused organ removal by a consultant working in an NHS hospital, according to court testimony.
The doctor at the Royal Free in Camden began to wonder whether the alleged victim knew he was the kidney donor and whether he was actually 41 as stated on his passport.
Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and Beatrice Ekweremadu, 55, are charged with bringing the unemployed child from Nigeria to the UK in order to give his organs to their daughter, who has renal failure.
The 15-year-old was handed a 41-year-passport old’s in order to enter the UK, but until he arrived at a hospital appointment in London, he was unaware that he was there to donate a kidney, a court heard yesterday.
He had a series of medical consultations after moving to the city in February regarding kidney donation, but a physician at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, allegedly became concerned about the boy’s actual age and whether or not he was aware that he was there to give an organ.
Since 2003, Mr. Ekweremadu has served as an elected senator in the Abuja-based Senate. He entered politics after working as a lawyer for many years.
His wife, who is five years his junior, is a doctor and academic who is well-known in Nigeria. Four adult children are reportedly theirs. Both deny using the youngster as a slave.
Yesterday at Uxbridge Magistrates Court, prosecutor Damla Ayas stated: “The victim was 15.” Both defendants approached him in Nigeria. On Lagos’s streets, he was a homeless man.
He was tricked into believing he would have a better life in the UK. A passport for a 41-year-old man was given to him. These defendants obtained the passport against the law.
‘He was provided with a medical travel visa saying the purpose of the travel was to provide medical treatment for the defendants’ daughter who was undergoing dialysis in relation to a number of health issues.
‘It was premeditated, it was planned. Blood tests were obtained in Nigeria and he travelled to the UK in February this year.
‘He was taken to several medical appointments in particular a medical appointment at the Royal Free Hospital and was spoken to by a consultant about the organ harvesting for a kidney transplant.
‘The consultant was concerned about his actual age and was concerned he was not aware he was the donor of the kidney. He only found out that the purpose of his visit was for an organ transplant when he visited the hospital’.
Last month, police received alerts about possible violations of the modern slavery statutes.
After meeting with members of the Nigerian community in Britain in Lincoln about ten days ago, Ekweremadu has been in the UK for at least the previous two weeks.
It was a joy and an honor to be appointed as a visiting professor of corporate and international linkages by the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, he tweeted. A copy of the Magna Carta was another prized present that I received.
It was made around 807 years ago, around 1215.
The court heard that the pair was detained two days ago at Heathrow Airport as they tried to catch a flight to Turkey, where it was rumored that the procedure may take place.
Prosecutors claim that 60-year-old Ekweremadu had £20,000 on him when he was apprehended.
According to sources, the youngster is now in the custody of the Metropolitan Police and safeguarding authorities.
Ekweremadu and his 55-year-old accountant wife Beatrice are accused of conspiring to set up or aid another person’s travel with the intention of exploitation, specifically organ harvesting.
At Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the senator was dressed in a grey sweater, and his wife was attired in a black-and-white knit cardigan.
“It is conspiracy in regard to human trafficking offenses for the purpose of organ harvesting,” stated prosecutor Damla Ayas. 15 years old is the victim in this incident.
At the police station, the pair had an interview. A prepared statement has been given by each defendant.
‘In his prepared statement, Mr. Ekweremadu refuted claims of human trafficking.
He claimed that he never set up transportation for anyone with the goal to take advantage of them.
In her prepared statement, his wife also refuted the accusations, the court heard.
There is no doubt that this is a serious accusation, according to Gavin Irwin, who is Ekweremadu’s attorney. Mr. Ekweremadu represents Nigeria in the senate.
He previously served as the Senate’s deputy president, which was a considerably more important position.
He belongs to the Nigerian bar. A law company bearing his name has him as a principal.
When all of those problems are considered, “he has led a blameless life as a public servant,” rather than just being a person of excellent character.
The claims, Mr. Irwin continued, were “nothing short of ludicrous.”
‘She has never been complicit or implicated in any suspected criminal trafficking of any young child,’ said Antonia Gray, speaking on behalf of Mrs. Ekweremadu.
She has an impeccable record as a financial accountant.
The court was informed that the pair has a residence in Willesden, northwest London, where they may stay.
A 14-day adjournment request was made by the prosecutor.
Attorney General permission is necessary for certain offenses, and the Crown needs 14 days to secure it, according to Ms. Ayas.
These are significant claims, so the cases have been postponed until July 7 back in Uxbridge, according to magistrate Lois Sheard.
Prior to their hearing the next month, Ms. Sheard remanded both offenders in detention.
Between 1 August 2021 and 5 May 2022, under the purview of the Central Criminal Court, the Ekweremadus are accused of conspiring to arrange or enable another person’s journey with a view to exploitation.
After police received a warning about possible violations of the modern slavery Act in May 2022, the Met’s Specialist Crime branch opened an investigation.
The boy is safe and receiving care, according to the Met Police. This month, Mr. Ekweremadu and Nwanneka Ekweremadu were detained in Britain.
Since 2003, Mr. Ekweremadu has served as an elected senator in the Abuja-based senate. He entered politics after working as a lawyer for many years.
His wife, who is five years his junior, is a doctor and academic who is well-known in Nigeria. Four adult children are reportedly theirs.
The minor at the center of the suspected conspiracy, according to the Metropolitan Police, is in foster care.
Removing body parts from a victim against their choice and frequently for money is called organ harvesting.
Detectives were made aware of probable violations of the modern slavery legislation in May 2022, the police said, and the investigation was then started.
An ex-minister of the Nigerian government alleged in 2017 that migrants from his nation were being sold into slavery and then having their organs extracted.
Former Nigerian aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode asserted that his nation accounts for 75% of the slaves whose organs are harvested in North Africa.
The victim’s “bodies are mutilated,” the Cambridge-educated attorney continued, and they are “grilled like suya [shish kebabs].” “Roasted alive!” he continued. Sub-Saharan Africans seeking a transit route to Europe are treated in this way by Libyans.
They either kill, mutilate, torture, or work them to death after selling them into slavery.