A Nigerian politician who brought a man to the UK to harvest a kidney from him has been found guilty of conspiracy to obtain organs for transplant. This is the first such sentence under the new modern slavery laws.
Ike Ekweremadu, who was vice-president of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife were accused of bringing a 21-year-old street vendor from Lagos to the UK, whom they convinced would work in London and earn thousands of pounds. In fact, the young man was to become a kidney donor for the politician’s daughter.
The transplant was to be carried out at a London hospital, with Dr Obinn Obet, who was described by prosecutors as a “medical intermediary”, helping to carry out the operation. The doctor was also found guilty in the case.
The couple sought to illegally harvest their organs
The transplant operation failed because the circumstances in which it was to be arranged aroused the suspicions of a doctor at the Royal Free Hospital clinic. When the hospital refused to perform the operation, Ekweremadu began to look for other potential kidney donors in Turkey.
The main prosecutor in the case, Joanne Jakymec, stressed in her statement that the Equeremadu couple had attempted to exploit the Lagos young man’s limited capacity to understand the situation and had resorted to using their high political influence to bring about the illegal removal of organs.
Ike Ekweremadu, his wife and Dr. Obinna Obeta will remain in custody pending sentencing, which is due on May 5.
The website of the British broadcaster BBC noted that this is the first case of conviction of those accused of conspiracy to trade organs under the Modern Slavery Act. The legislation, adopted in 2015, provides for life sentences for trafficking offenders and forcing companies to disclose data necessary to rule out that they are using slave labour.
Main photo source: EPA/ANDY RAIN