Nigerian politician, wife charged with attempted organ harvesting in London
Nigerian
rights activists are reacting with outrage after a Nigerian politician
and his wife were charged by British prosecutors with human trafficking
with the intent to harvest organs.
Ike Ekweremadu is alleged to
have smuggled a Nigerian boy into Britain to harvest his kidney for
their sick daughter. The former deputy senate president and his wife
appeared before the Uxbridge Magistrate's court on Thursday, two days
after they were arrested by London police.
Prosecutors
accused them of luring 15-year-old David Nwamini Ukpo from Nigeria to
the UK to donate his kidney to their daughter. Prosecutors also accused
them of forging documents to make Ukpo appear to be 21 years old. It's
not clear if Ukpo was aware of the reason he was traveling, but a letter
written by Ekweremadu to the British High Commission in December stated
they were going to the UK for organ donation.
Ekweremadu's
daughter is reportedly battling a kidney disease. He and his wife were
arrested on their way to Turkey to procure another organ after they
allegedly were unable to continue the process with Ukpo. They denied the
allegations on Thursday but did not enter a plea and were held without
bail.
Prominent Nigerian human rights activists
have denounced the politician on social media. The co-founder of the
Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Movement, Aisha Yesufu, tweeted, "How many
missing people are related to organ harvesting? This is scary."
Another
activist, Rinu Oduala, said, "They really thought they would get away
with it in the UK. Because Nigeria is a place where criminals occupy
public offices, commit crimes and go scot-free."
"That the former
deputy senate president might be involved in organ trafficking is
disappointing to say the very least," Oduala told VOA via a voice
messaging app. "The Nigerian image, our reputation keeps dwindling out
there. Every day our public officials make it harder for Nigerians to
thrive out there, we're forced to prove a point that we're not that
image of our country."
Ekweremadu's defense attorney, Gavin
Irwin, described the allegations as "preposterous" Thursday. On Friday,
supporters on social media pledged their support for Ekweremadu,
including a colleague, senator Dino Melaye, who twitted, "I stand with
Ike."
Ariyo-Dare Atoye, founder of the Nigeria Liberty Center, says it is too early to make conclusions.
"It
is the aggregate of the records available to the UK embassy and the
hospital that will be able to expose whether they followed due process,"
he said. "Has any document been forged? Has there been any
manipulation? All of this will come to the fore possibly in the next
adjourned date. This is not something that anybody can cover up."
The
World Health Organization says one-tenth of all global organ
transplants are performed using illegally acquired organs. Under the
UK's Modern Slavery Act of 2015, conspiracy to harvest the organs of a
child is a serious offense and perpetrators could face life imprisonment
if found guilty.
Ekweremadu's next hearing is July 7.
