Ike Ekweremadu, former Vice President of the Senate, and his wife, Beatrice, are at risk of receiving a 10-year prison sentence under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of the United Kingdom after a London court convicted them of organ trafficking.
Following the guilty convictions of Mr Justice Johnson, Ekweremadu and his wife have been remanded in custody pending their May 5 sentencing.
According to The Mirror, the couple was accused with a physician, Obinna Obeta, and their daughter, Sonia, who was exonerated after nearly 14 hours of jury deliberation.
Authorities in the United Kingdom detained the Ekweremadus after receiving allegations from the young guy about their suspected plans to harvest his organ.
According to Daily Mail, the young man, a trader from Lagos, was to be compensated for donating a kidney to Sonia during a private £80,000 treatment at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
The Modern Slavery Act of 2015 criminalises human trafficking, which includes organ harvesting.
Section 2 subsection 1 of the Modern Slavery Act of 2015 defines human trafficking as arranging or facilitating the travel of another person (“V”) for the purpose of exploitation as a criminal offence.
It is irrelevant whether V consents to the travel, per subsection 2. (whether V is an adult or a child).
The statute states in Section 2 Subsection 7 that “a non-UK citizen commits an offence under this section if any portion of the arranging or facilitating occurs in the United Kingdom, or if the trip comprises of arrival in or entry into, departure from, or passage within the United Kingdom.”
Section 5 subsection of the Act stipulates that a person convicted of an offence under sections 1 or 2 is punishable, (a)upon conviction on indictment, to life imprisonment; (b)upon summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed one year, a fine, or both.
Section 5 Subsection 2 states that a person convicted of an offence under Section 4 is liable (unless Subsection 3 applies): (a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 10 years; (b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 12 months or a fine or both.
In accordance with subsection 3, a person who commits an offence under section 4 by kidnapping or false imprisonment is subject to life imprisonment upon conviction on indictment.