A UK court has sentenced Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice Ekweremadu, and medical doctor Obinna Obeta to prison following their conviction for organ trafficking in March.
Senator Ike was sentenced to 9 years and 8 months in prison, while his wife Beatrice received 6 years. Obeta was given a prison term of 10 years and 6 months.
Ekweremadu, Beatrice, and Obeta were convicted of conspiring to exploit a young Nigerian man named David Nwamini for his kidney by arranging his travel to the United Kingdom.
Sonia, Ekweremadu’s sick daughter, required the organ.
Hugh Davies, the prosecutor, informed the jury that Ekweremadu exhibited “entitlement, dishonesty, and hypocrisy”
Beatrice and Ekweremadu both denied the charge. They told the court that they had no knowledge of the alleged conspiracy and were victims of a swindle.
Obeta, for his part, denied the accusation, stating that the individual had not been offered a reward for his kidney and was acting altruistically.
In the meantime, the former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had penned a letter to the British authorities pleading for the legislator to temper justice with mercy when administering the sentence.
In addition, Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Igbo sociocultural organisation, the Nigerian Senate, the Nigerian House of Representatives, and the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission had joined the conflict, pleading with the British authorities for leniency towards the embattled lawmaker.
