Former Nigerian Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, have been found guilty of organ trafficking in the United Kingdom.
The couple, along with their daughter, Sonia, and a medical doctor, Dr. Obinna Obeta, were convicted of facilitating the travel of a 21-year-old Lagos street trader to Britain for the purpose of organ exploitation.
After a six-week trial at the Old Bailey, the jury found that the quartet had criminally conspired to bring the young man to London to exploit him for his kidney.
The victim, whose name has not been disclosed, was promised £100,000 for the organ but only received a fraction of the sum after the surgery.
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The prosecution argued that the Ekweremadu family and Dr. Obeta had played a key role in the trafficking scheme, with Ekweremadu’s wife and daughter acting as intermediaries between the victim and Dr. Obeta.
The family had denied the charges, with their lawyers arguing that they were innocent victims of a fraudulent doctor.
However, the jury did not find their defense convincing and instead, found them guilty of organ trafficking. The judge, Justice Jeremy Johnson, will pass a sentence at a later date.
