Ekweremadu’s Trial Adjourned, To Spend Christmas, New Year in London Prison

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Nigeria’s former deputy Senate president will go on trial in the United Kingdom in January for alleged organ harvesting, a judge has said. The Central Criminal Court in London, the United Kingdom, on Monday moved the trial of Ekweremadu forward from earlier date in May 2023 to January 31, 2023.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, is accused with his wife, Beatrice, 56, their daughter, Sonia, 25, and a doctor of bringing a man from Nigeria to have a kidney removed.

The 21-year-old victim of organ harvesting was said to have raised the alarm after refusing to consent to the operation to remove his organ after preliminary tests at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

The arguments will be heard on the 16th or 19th of December 2022 before the commencement of the trial in January 2023.

Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport on June 23 and charged with conspiracy to trafficking a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Though he was absent from court on Monday, his wife who was released on bail in July and Sonia, the couple’s daughter, were present.

The family and the doctor, Obina Obeta, 50, were accused of conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view of exploitation.

Prosecutors said the kidney was meant for Sonia.

Last week, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja ordered the interim forfeiture of Ekweremadu’s assets following an ex-parte motion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

StreetReporters.ng

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