NewStats: 3,265,076 , 8,185,581 topics. Date: Friday, 13 June 2025 at 11:39 AM 5135s

Say he asked victim to lie he was cousin to his daughter.

A Nigerian senator and his wife plotted to bring a poor street trader to the UK to harvest his kidney for their daughter in exchange for up to £7,000 and the promise of a better life, a court has heard.

Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu, their 25-year-old daughter Sonia and medical “middleman” Dr. Obinna Obeta allegedly conspired to exploit the 21-year-old man for his body part, the court heard.

It is claimed Sonia Ekweremadu was to have been the recipient of his kidney in a transplant operation at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London.

As part of the alleged plot, “elaborate” steps were taken to create the false impression that Sonia and her proposed donor were cousins, it is claimed. His status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth since they had international connections, the court was told.

Opening their Old Bailey trial on Monday, Hugh Davies KC said Ekweremadu, 60, a senior senator in the Nigerian Parliament, and his 56-year-old wife were “significant figures” in Nigerian society.

“His status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth. They had international connections,” the prosecutor said.

“There are, however, certain things that money and status cannot guarantee in any family and they include good health,” the prosecutor added.

Sonia had a “significant and deteriorating” kidney condition which could be managed through dialysis but cured with a transplant, the court heard.

Davies told jurors: “Most parents, whether powerful or not in society, will do whatever is necessary to alleviate suffering in their child.

“The Ekweremadus were no different: the evidence – from s from their mobile phones, and wider actions – demonstrates a close, open and loving family each with an understandable and direct interest in Sonia’s medical treatment.”

Davies told jurors the case was not about their motivation but what the defendants were prepared to do to cure Sonia’s kidney condition.

While it was lawful for someone to donate a kidney, it is criminal to reward someone for doing so, jurors heard. To him – a street trader from Lagos – these sums and rewards were significant, The Independent and Reuters reported.

The donor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was allegedly recruited in Lagos, Nigeria. At the time he was making a few pounds a day selling telephone parts from a cart in public markets, the court heard.

Davies said other potential donors in Nigeria had been reviewed for suitability before he was identified.

And when the organ transplant did not go ahead in London, steps were taken to arrange a transplant operation in Turkey with a different donor, it was claimed.

When the street trader was found to be a suitable match, he was transported to London in February 2022, under the “direction and financial control” of the alleged plotters, Davies said.

As part of the deception, the young man was purported to be Sonia’s cousin, with the family connection used to get a temporary visa to travel to the UK, the court was told.

He was coached to give false answers to doctors at the Royal Free Hospital and Sonia was “singing from the same hymn sheet” to create a fake family history, Davies added.

The man appeared to have been offered a reward of up to 3.5 million naira (7,000 pounds or $8,439) along with a promise of work and the chance to be in Britain, the court heard.

Davies told jurors: “Relative to the wider medical costs of the process – measured in tens of thousands of pounds – which would have been done privately, his reward was to be a small fraction of the whole.

“To him – a street trader from Lagos – these sums and rewards were significant,” the prosecutor said.

Jurors were told the alleged donor did not understand until his first appointment with a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital that he was there for a kidney transplant.

He was said by the consultant to have “limited understanding” of what he was there for and was “visibly relieved” on being told the transplant would not go ahead, the court heard.

Davies noted: “More widely, the prosecution contends that (the donor) was subject to a high degree of control throughout and was dependent on what he was told for his understanding.”

The jury was told Sonia Ekweremadu has not had a kidney transplant and remains on dialysis.

The three Ekweremadus, from Willesden Green, north-west London, and Obeta, 50, from Southwark, denied conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of the young man with a view to exploitation between August 1, 2021 and May 5 2022.

“None of this would have been necessary if this was a straightforward, genuine, lawful, altruistic kidney donation,” Davies said. “It was not. The alleged conspirators knew it was not, what they agreed to was not. It was criminal,” he added.

Davies said according to the would-be donor’s which the defence would, “doubtless dispute”, he did not grasp that he had been taken to London a year ago for a kidney transplant until his first screening appointment at the Royal Free Hospital.

The consultant who carried out the tests said the man had a limited understanding of why he was there and was visibly relieved when told the transplant would not proceed, according to Davies.

Davies said there was an “obvious risk that those providing organs for transplantation for reward are likely to come from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society.”

The defendants have been charged under modern slavery legislation which makes it an offence to “arrange or facilitate the travel” of a person to the UK for exploitation.

This offence carries a higher potential sentence of life, compared to a maximum of three years for illegally making an organ donation.

He was from a remote village and did not know his exact age, so he “adopted” a date of birth which would make him around 22 now, jurors were told.

The court heard he was given medical tests in Nigeria to assess his suitability as a donor before being flown to the UK.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/02/07/uk-prosecutors-accuse-ekweremadu-of-attempting-to-buy-kidney-for-7000/

Ok

Politically motivated trial. Maybe it's law of karma sha

hisexcellency34:
Politically motivated trial. Maybe it's law of karma sha

As per the UK Judge na APC member abi?

This man will be gone for a long time I hope his crumbs er will pray for him or probably serve on his prison ...

Hmmmm

This man is in big trouble

Sonia Ekweremadu, the 25-year-old daughter of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, lost her bid to be excused from the trial her parents are involved in in the UK

First and foremost,
The most important thing in all of these is that,
All of us at [/b] pray for a successful surgery/operation for this young girl.
We pray for a healthy life for her.
This is the primary thing.
After that, all the other court issue can go on.
Her health and life comes first.

[b]Get well soon Sonia.
God gat you dearie.
Affliction will not arise a second time in your youthful life.

We Rise.

Scape goat

Princedapace:

Many have died becus her father didnt perform his duties that would have created competent hospital in their state. So, I dont pray or wish them well.

We are not talking about her father,
We are talking about an innocent 25 year old girl here, get that right.
Anyways, whatever you wish for the young girl comes back to you in multiple folds.
What goes around , comes around.
We Rise.

O pari. This is the summary of the whole matter.
Soft reminder to parents torn between fatherhood and ambition: https://nairaland.macsoftware.info/7263719/ekweremadu-fatherhood-ambition-sunkanmi-vaughan

You will lose las las if you lose this balance and misplace your priority. May we not be unfortunate.
check my signature for free stuffs!

I pray the lady get a donor asap

Let's be careful of what we eat, & pray we don't becomes victim of such

Our politicians should learn to do good, money cannot buy everything in this life even if money can buy kidney it's still 50/50 because only God is Amen

It's unfortunate there's many twist to this story because the news said the guy was below 18yrs last year so how come he's 21yrs today

Make ATIKU ENTER FIRST

Hmm, this isn't looking good for Ekweremadu at all. The UK isn't Nigeria where they blame the poor when the rich is wrong... I don't see him getting out of this anytime soon.

Politicians, fix your system at home, you guys said no. So enjoy the stay there rent & food.

Ok

Buy garri without wahala here


Buy kidney without stress through our windows

Chai my man go stay long for prison like this

E be like say the village people get hand in this matter.

For a very long time, people have been giving out their kidneys for money/good life.

D useless poster is a chronic irredeemable urchins.1000yrs hardship for all apc er's

This new yam Ekweremmadu is eating is from a townhall different from....

Matter tie gele

Flatin0 and organ harvesting

He Should Rot In Jail For Been Heartless and Dubious

Peter Obi: Ekweremadu under fire for saying South East will vote for Atiku


According to Ekweremadu, South East will vote Atiku....


What assistance has Atiku given to him since the incidence?

Well moral of these lesson is simple



They call them high figures in their country Nigeria




Having high connection


But they are being held as rat by a common police boy not even a police man in their own country



Life goes on


And they have even naked him and the wife in their prison

Both the idiotic high profile ekwe and his wife can't do shit about it.

Neither his saviour buhari or any senate could do anything about it


Life goes on

Ekwe mind right now, would have to have killed the boy here in Nigeria and taking the kidney abroad

But by now if he had tried such he would have being sentence to death by the same British



There is nothing wrong if ekwe because of his daughter build a functional standard hospital in Nigeria but no. Greed and power has rotten his brain

hisexcellency34:
Politically motivated trial. Maybe it's law of karma sha

Young man, how does this have political undertones.

When none of these people handling the case are from Nigeria

Or is the life of that poor boy not important to you

I humbly plead with you , in other not to heighten tension on delicate issue in your country.

Please remove that political undertones you added to your post

Ekweremadu should stop showing stubbornness and plead guilty so as to stop wasting the Court time get a light sentence

Ekweremadu

Na Atiku presidency fit save am o

hisexcellency34:
Politically motivated trial. Maybe it's law of karma sha

As per say na malami dey lead UK judiciary.

Na we be your best plug for everything Sexual enhancement tho

The road is still long and winding for him.