“I Don’t Need Anything From Bad People” Victim Speaks As UK Court Sentences Ekweremadu, Wife, Doctor To 9, 4, 10 Years Imprisonment

Court in United Kingdom, UK has sentenced former Nigeria Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Wife, Beatrice, Middleman doctor, Obinna Obeta to nine years and eight months, four years and six months, and ten years imprisonment respectively for trying to harvest the organ of a 21 years old poor Nigerian, David Nwamini Ukpo.

The 21-year-old, David Nwamini Ukpo had said he only realized what was planned when he met doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in London who began discussing a kidney transplant.

Adding that, he does not need any compensation from the Ekweremadu’s family because he does not want anything from bad people.

Ike Ekweremadu, wife and the middleman doctor were sentenced to prison on Friday after they were found guilty earlier in March.

Tom Symonds, the Home Affairs correspondent with BBC who monitored the televised sentencing reports thus in quote:

Ike Ekweremadu is a Nigerian politician and a lawyer who hails from Enugu State who has served in the Senate of Nigeria since June 2003. He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party, and was the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate for three consecutive senate

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, wanted a new kidney for their 25-year-old daughter Sonia, the Old Bailey heard.

The pair and Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, were previously convicted of conspiring to exploit the man.

It is said to be the first such case under modern slavery laws.

Ike Ekweremadu, who was described by the judge as the “driving force throughout”, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.

Dr Obeta was sentenced to 10 years after the judge found he had targeted the potential donor who was young, poor and vulnerable.

Beatrice Ekweremadu was jailed for four years and six months due to her more limited involvement.

“Middleman” Dr Obinna Obeta and the senator’s wife, Beatrice, were also previously found guilty

Their victim, a poor street trader in Lagos, was brought to the UK to provide a kidney for the Ekweremadus’ daughter.

He fled in fear of his life and walked into a police station exactly a year ago to report what had happened after the Royal Free Hospital called a halt to the private £80,000 procedure.

During a televised sentence hearing, Mr Justice Johnson recognized Ike Ekweremadu’s “substantial fall from grace”.

He described the politician as someone of high office with multiple properties, domestic staff, maids, chefs and drivers, compared with the victim who could not afford a £25 ticket to travel to Abuja.

‘Form of slavery’

Obeta, he said, had lied to doctors and falsely claimed the young potential donor was a cousin of the senator’s daughter who urgently needed a transplant.

The three had left the potential donor facing a “substantial and long term impact on his daily life”, he said.

“People-trafficking across international borders for the harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery,” the judge added.

Sonia Ekweremadu was cleared of wrongdoing and watched her parents being sentenced from the public gallery

In a victim personal statement, the 21-year-old Nigerian market trader, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he used to “pray every day” to be given the opportunity to come to the UK to work or study.

He said to “make it happen” he agreed to medical tests in Lagos and meetings with doctors in London, believing they were required for his UK visa during the Covid pandemic.

The 21-year-old said he only realised what was planned when he met doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in London who began discussing a kidney transplant.

He told the court he would not had have agreed to it, adding: “My body is not for sale.”

The victim is now being helped by a charity in the UK, according to his lawyer in Nigeria.

In his statement he said he “can’t think about going home to Nigeria”, as “these people are extremely powerful and I worry for my safety”.

He also refused to apply for financial compensation from the Ekweremadu family, telling a detective he “did not need or want anything from the bad people”.

‘First conviction’

Hugh Davies KC, prosecuting, said all three defendants were guilty of trafficking with the highest level of culpability.

Lynette Woodrow, deputy chief crown prosecutor and national modern slavery lead at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it had been “our first conviction for trafficking for the purposes of organ removal in England and Wales”.

She said it highlighted an important legal principle which made it irrelevant whether the trafficking victim knew he was coming to the UK to provide a kidney.

“With all trafficking offences,” Ms Woodrow said, “the consent of the person trafficked is no defence. The law is clear; you cannot consent to your own exploitation.”

In the wake of the case the Metropolitan Police and CPS have been working with hospitals and the Human Tissue Authority about actions they should take when concerns about organ trafficking are raised.