Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, were found guilty of organ trafficking by a United Kingdom court on Thursday. Dr. Obinna Obeta, a medical doctor, was also convicted in the same case.
The couple had facilitated the travel of a young man from Lagos to the UK for the purpose of organ harvesting.
The victim, a street trader, was brought to the UK last year to undergo a private kidney transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London, for which he was paid £80,000. The United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 prohibits human trafficking, including organ harvesting, and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Act defines exploitation to include slavery, servitude, forced labor, sexual exploitation, removal of organs, securing services by force or deception, and securing services from children and vulnerable persons.
According to the Act, those found guilty of human trafficking are liable to 12 months’ imprisonment and/or unlimited fine upon summary conviction, while conviction on indictment carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Ekweremadu has been in detention since June last year.
