The Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London has denied bail to former Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife Beatrice over claims that they trafficked a 15-year-old boy from Lagos to the UK with the intent to harvest his organ.
According to Arise TV, the prosecutors at the court this afternoon said the Ekweremadus were being charged for bringing the 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK with the claim that he was to be given a better life in the UK but was actually to harvest his organ. The prosecutors told the court that the former Senate President procured a passport for the boy and claimed he was 21 years old but they discovered that he was 15 years old.
The prosecutors also told the court that the Ekweremadus have a daughter who has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for quite some time. They told the court that it is believed that the plan was to use an organ from the boy on their daughter who appears to need a kidney transplant.
Ekweremadu and his wife had separate legal representatives and prayed the court to release them on bail but their prayers were however dismissed by the Magistrate. The couple has surrendered their passports to the UK government.
The couple was arrested at Heathrow airport, on their way to Istanbul, Turkey and according to the prosecutors, it is believed that they were on their way to procure another organ as they were unable to harvest the organ of the boy. The prosecutors also stated that $20, 000 cash was found on Mr. Ekweremadu.
According to Arise, the red flag was raised after the boy truthfully disclosed his age, 15, to the doctors at the Royal Free hospital in the UK. The doctors cancelled the procedure and the boy was immediately taken into the custody of the family who according to the prosecutors treated him like a slave until he escaped and found his way to the police where an investigation started, leading to the arrest of the couple.
Arise news reports that according to the prosecutors, the Ekweremadus found the boy off the streets in Lagos, he was homeless and they brought him to the UK under the pretence of offering him a better life. The defence however says there is far more than meets the eye regarding the case.
After much deliberation, the Magistrate ordered their remand in custody till July 7 for the next hearing on the case.
