The United Kingdom has rejected Nigeria’s request to repatriate former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the country.
Ekweremadu is currently serving a nine-year, eight-month sentence in a UK prison following his 2023 conviction for conspiring to traffic a young man’s kidney. His sentence followed a high-profile trial that exposed his involvement in organ trafficking.
Last week, a Nigerian government delegation led by Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar met with UK Ministry of Justice officials to request Ekweremadu’s transfer. A source at the Ministry of Justice confirmed the request was denied, citing concerns over whether Nigeria could guarantee that Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence if deported.
A UK government spokesperson said prisoner transfers are discretionary and subject to careful assessment, adding that “the UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, who was sentenced to four years and six months for her role in the case, has already served half of her sentence in the UK and has returned to Nigeria.
During sentencing, Mr. Justice Jeremy Johnson described the organ trafficking plot as a “despicable trade” and called Ekweremadu the “driving force” behind it, emphasizing that the practice amounts to slavery and treats human beings as commodities.
The case highlighted vulnerabilities in the UK health system, where the trafficked victim was taken to a private renal unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London in February 2022 under false pretenses for a kidney transplant worth £80,000.
Ekweremadu will therefore continue to serve his sentence in the UK, ending immediate prospects for his transfer back to Nigeria.
