High-ranking Senator, Ike Ekweremadu, a 60-year-old politician from Nigeria, and his academic wife, a 55-year-old woman, have been accused of planning to send a child from Nigeria to the UK for organ harvesting.
According to MailOnline, Senator Ekweremadu, one of the prominent leaders in the west African nation of Nigeria and his wife have been detained on suspicion of planning to harvest a child’s organs in the UK,
This month, Ike Ekweremadu, 60, a People’s Democratic Party member for 19 years who served as Nigeria’s deputy Senate president, was held with his wife Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55.
Since 2003, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu has served as an elected senator in the Abuja-based parliament. He entered politics after working as a lawyer for many years. His wife, who is five years his junior, is a doctor and academic who is well-known in Nigeria. According to reports, the couple have four adult children between them.
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Both of them are accused of conspiring to set up or aid the journey of another person with the intention of exploitation, specifically organ harvesting. They have been kept in jail and are scheduled to show up in court today at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.
The minor at the center of the suspected conspiracy, according to the Metropolitan Police, is in foster care. Removing body parts from a victim against their choice and frequently for money is called organ harvesting.
Scotland Yard has not disclosed the child’s gender, age, or the place of the arrests. However, it is likely that they were detained at the adjacent Heathrow Airport given that the suspects are due in court in Uxbridge.
According to reports, Ekweremadu has been in the UK for at least two weeks. A few days ago, it was revealed that the Nigerian Senator had a meeting with members of the Nigerian community in Britain in Lincoln.
The investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022, the force said.
Organ Harvesting In The UK
Forced organ harvesting and organ trafficking are related crimes in which victims’ organs are taken under duress or without their knowledge and sold illegally, frequently finding their way into the organ transplant market. This means unknowing tourists undergoing organ transplants abroad are at-risk of receiving organs linked to organ trafficking and forced organ harvesting.
Earlier in May, 2022, the U.K.’s Health and Care Bill passed into law, a new piece of legislation that will prevent British nationals from traveling abroad to receive an organ transplant.
If the case of organ harvesting about Ike Ekweremadu was related to an adult, the consequences would have probably been lighter. UK does not joke with children.
If convicted on indictment, the person who committed the offence could be subject to: a. Imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or b. A fine, or c. Both.
