The United Kingdom has turned down Nigeria’s request to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu was sentenced in 2023 after being found guilty of plotting to exploit a young man for his kidney, with the motive to secure a transplant for his daughter at a private NHS hospital. His wife, Beatrice, and an accomplice, Dr. Obinna Obeta, planned for the victim to be brought to London under pretenses.
Prosecutors revealed that the arrangement involved carrying out the transplant at the Royal Free Hospital, with claims—later found to be false—that the donor was a relative who had agreed to the procedure in exchange for £80,000.
Ekweremadu is currently serving a nine-year, eight-month sentence in a UK prison. Last week, a delegation sent by the Nigerian government, which was led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, met with officials from the UK Ministry of Justice to request that he be allowed to serve the rest of his term in Nigeria.
However, according to The Guardian UK, a source from the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the request was denied. The UK government reportedly expressed concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence if transferred.
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of the Law,” the source reportedly stated.
As a result, Ekweremadu will continue to serve the rest of his prison term in the UK.
