By Abiola Olawale
The United Kingdom has reportedly rejected a high-level request from the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria to allow convicted former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in his home country.
Ekweremadu is currently incarcerated in the UK for his role in an organ-trafficking plot.
Reports emerging on Monday quoted sources within the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) as confirming the development.
This comes after President Bola Tinubu sent a high-level delegation to London to discuss Ekweremadu’s case and explore the possibility of him serving the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria.
The delegation comprises Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice.
However, the UK Guardian, quoting an unnamed official of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), reported that the Nigerian government’s request was rejected.
“A source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected. It is understood the UK government was concerned that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported,” the newspaper said.
“Any prisoner transfer is at our discretion following a careful assessment of whether it would be in the interests of justice,” the UK Guardian quoted the official as saying.”
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
The New Diplomat reports that the Ekweremadus were arrested by the London Metropolitan Police in June 2022, after a man was falsely presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a cousin to their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to persuade medics to carry out an £80,000 transplant.
After months of investigation and court trial, Ekweremadu and his wife were found guilty of organ trafficking by a UK court.
Also, Obinna Obeta, a doctor involved in the case, was found guilty.
It was the first verdict of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was handed a 10-year prison term.
