A London court has found Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, his wife, and a medical intermediary guilty of participating in a scheme to extract a man’s kidney. As a result, Ekweremadu, along with his wife and the intermediary, have been sentenced to prison under the United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The Ekweremadus had been detained by UK authorities following complaints from a young man about their alleged scheme to harvest his organs. This act of organ harvesting is considered a form of human trafficking, which is prohibited under the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015.
After being found guilty by Mr. Justice Johnson, Ekweremadu and his wife were taken into custody and were to remain there until their sentencing on May 5th. The couple was charged along with a medical doctor named Obinna Obeta, and their daughter Sonia, who was acquitted after the jury deliberated for almost 14 hours.
The verdict has been announced, and Ekweremadu has been sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison. His wife has been given a prison term of four years and six months, while Obinna Obeta has been sentenced to ten years behind bars.