Organ Harvesting: I Was Scammed — Ike Ekweremadu
0
0
Organ Harvesting: I Was Scammed — Ike Ekweremadu
Former Nigerian Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, daughter, and a doctor, Obinna Obeta, are currently on trial at London’s central criminal court for allegedly conspiring to exploit a street trader by harvesting his kidney for Ekweremadu’s sick daughter.
Sonia, Ekweremadu’s daughter, suffers from a renal condition and is currently on dialysis.
The accused allegedly promised the trader a new life in Britain and £7,000 ($8,430) in return for his kidney.
READ ALSO: INEC Issues Certificates of Return to Senators-Elect
However, the alleged victim refused to consent to the procedure after preliminary tests at a north London hospital in February 2022, leading him to report the matter to the UK police.
The court has heard that the young man had limited understanding of why he was at the hospital and was visibly relieved when told the transplant would not go ahead.
The Ekweremadus and Obeta have been charged with conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation under UK legislation on modern slavery.
While it is legal to donate a kidney in Britain, it is illegal to do so for a reward.
Prosecutors argue that the accused committed a crime regardless of whether the victim consented.
Ekweremadu, who has been held in custody since his arrest, testified that he feared he was being scammed but did not stop the plan because his daughter’s life was on the line.
Ekweremadu’s daughter had to withdraw from her studies after collapsing in class due to her deteriorating kidney condition.
The prosecutor alleges that the young man had been coached to give false answers to doctors at the hospital, and Sonia was “singing from the same hymn sheet” to create a fake family history linking the pair as cousins.
Ekweremadu’s wife and daughter are currently on conditional bail.
