Human trafficking, organ harvesting charges against us ‘false, absurd’: Ekweremadus
Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice have denied all charges of human trafficking and organ harvesting filed against them before a UK magistrate’s court.
The couple said they did not procure a minor in order to abduct and harvest his organ, contradicting the charges filed by the Metropolitan Police at Uxbridge Magistrate’s Court, London, on Thursday afternoon.
The charges were “nothing short of preposterous,” the Ekweremadus said through their lawyer Gavin Irwin, who added that the couple never “arranged transport for anyone with intention to exploit them.”
Despite strongly denying the allegations, the Ekweremadus were remanded in custody until commencement of trial on July 7.
Mr Ekweremadu has been a member of the Nigerian Senate since 2003. He was the Deputy Senate President between 2015 and 2019. He sought but failed to clinch the PDP ticket for governorship race in his home Enugu State.
Mr Ekweremadu’s records “taken together go way beyond him being a person of good character…rather that he has led a blameless life as a public servant,” his lawyers added.
Antonia Gray, a lawyer to Mrs Ekweremadu, said: “She has never been complicit or involved in any alleged illegal trafficking of any young person.”
“She is a financial accountant with an unblemished record,” the lawyer added.
Peoples Gazette had published a letter which Mr Ekweremadu wrote to the UK High Commission seeking to procure a visa for someone named David Ukpo.
The December 28, 2021, letter signed personally by Mr Ekweremadu specifically said he was supporting Mr Ukpo’s visa application because he wanted him to undergo medical examinations in the UK with the purpose of donating a kidney to his daughter Sonia Ekweremadu.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
Three killed, two injured in Kano building collapse: NEMA
Nuradeen Abdullahi, NEMA Kano territorial coordinator, confirmed the incident and casualty figures to journalists on Friday in Kano.
Health
Enugu health commissioner pushes for Nigerian-made malaria vaccines
He said this was the time to call on Nigeria to look into the possibilities of manufacturing malaria vaccines in our environment.
States
Husband of missing police officer seeks IGP’s intervention
The husband said Mrs Ruth and four of her colleagues went missing on February 13 after an ambush during their official assignment to Abia.
World
Cardiologist gets four-year jail term over deaths of two patients
The cardiologist was found guilty of manslaughter by a court in Berlin after determining he was responsible for killing the two patients.
NationWide
Suleja Jailbreak: Coalition seeks tight security measures, modernisation of custodial facilities
The coalition said there was an urgent need to examine the root causes of jailbreaks and other related issues bedevilling the country’s custodial facilities.
World
Iran arresting, detaining women over head covering: UN
The country’s morality police had announced stricter checks some weeks ago, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.