Organ Harvesting: Ekweremadu to remain in custody till 31 October

Image: Heritage Times

On Thursday, the pre-trial hearing of the criminal charges leveled against Former Deputy Senate Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, has been adjourned till 31 October at a court in London.

The embattled couple is standing trial for human trafficking and attempted organ harvesting.

Daily Mail reported that, “Mrs. Ekweremadu, who is on bail, appeared at the Old Bailey for a plea and directions hearing, with Messrs Ekweremadu and Obeta also attending by video link from Wandsworth and Belmarsh prisons.”

The newspaper said the judge, Richard Marks, said the case would be heard by a High Court judge, adding that a provisional trial will begin by 2 May 2023 with an estimated length of three to four weeks.

Recall that Nollywood Times earlier reported the Ekweremadu couple were arrested on 23 June in the UK by London Met Police. They were then charged with conspiracy to traffic a child to the United Kingdom to harvest organs.

The prosecutors said the couple has a daughter with a kidney-related infection and has been on dialysis for some time. They added that the Ekweremadus was to use an organ from David on their daughter, who needed the transplant.

Unfortunately, David Nwamini (alleged victim of trafficking) revealed to doctors that he was 15 and was coerced by the couple into giving his kidney.

Reacting to David’s confession, the FG of Nigeria said that information available in its records revealed that Mr. David Nwamini was indeed 21 years and not as he claimed. 

The Westminster Magistrate Court in the United Kingdom later ruled that he is not a minor.

The Nigerian couple is facing charges of conspiring to traffick a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The case was transferred to Central Criminal Court in London, popularly known as Old Bailey, where Mrs. Ekweremadu was granted bail on stringent conditions. Unfortunately, the senator was denied bail because he was described as a flight risk.

Obinna Obeta, a Nigerian doctor practicing in the UK, has been charged with plotting with the Ekweremadus to traffic a man into the UK to harvest a kidney for their daughter.

Mr. Obeta appeared before Bexley Magistrates’ court on 13 July and is charged under the Modern Slavery Act with arranging the travel of a 21-year-old man between August 2021 and May 2022 to exploit him.

Source: premiumtimesng.com

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