THE Westminster Magistrates Court in the United Kingdom today accepted that the kidney donor in the case of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice is not a minor.
Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested by the British police on June 23 on allegations of human trafficking and organ harvesting that violate the country’s Modern Slavery Act.
The police authorities had accused the lawmaker of conspiring to bring a child to the United Kingdom for organ harvesting, saying the victim was a 15-year-old boy.
During the continuation of the case, the prosecution accepted that he is 21 years old, contrary to earlier claims that he is 15 years old.
Ukpo admitted to the court that he is 21 years old and had been in the UK since February but only presented himself to the police in May.
The counsel for the defendants has also denied the allegations of exploitation laid by the alleged victim.
The case was adjourned till August 4, 2022.
Senator Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, have been remanded in custody until the next hearing.
Present at the hearing were some members of the Senate and delegates from the Nigerian High Commission.
Also present were former Senate Minority Leader, Eyinnanya Abaribe, former Senate President, David Mark, former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Adamu Bulkachuwa.
Just yesterday, the Federal High Court Abuja ordered the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to transmit the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata information of an alleged Minor to the Attorney General of the Federation for onward transmission to the UK to aid Ekweremadu’s trial.
The lawmaker’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, on July 27 urged Justice Inyang Ekwo to order the release of certain official documents of Ukpo domiciled with NIMC, Nigerian Immigration Service, and Stanbic-IBTC Bank for the purpose of effectively defending Ekweremadu in the UK.
