KEY POINTS
- Nigeria requests Ekweremadu’s prison transfer from the UK.
- High-level delegation holds talks with UK authorities.
- Case sparked international scrutiny on organ trafficking.
President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a high-level team to London to discuss arrangements for former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who has been serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom since March 2023.
The Federal Government is seeking ways to allow Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria, PUNCH Online gathered.
The delegation included Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar and Attorney General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi. On Monday, they held talks with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice regarding Ekweremadu’s incarceration.
Consultations ongoing for prisoner transfer
After the meeting, Acting High Commissioner Ambassador Mohammed Maidugu welcomed the team at the Nigerian High Commission in London.
Confirming the development, the spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Alkasim AbdulKadir, said consultations with UK authorities are ongoing.
“A formal request for a prisoner transfer has been submitted. Consultations are ongoing with UK authorities on the matter,” he added. They submitted an appeal to the United Kingdom authorities seeking a prisoner exchange so he could serve the remainder of his term in Nigeria.
Background of Ekweremadu’s conviction
In June 2022, London’s Metropolitan Police arrested Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, after they tried to convince medics at Royal Free Hospital to perform an £80,000 kidney transplant using a man they falsely claimed was their daughter’s cousin.
A UK court convicted Ike Ekweremadu in March 2023 of organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act. The court sentenced him to nine years and eight months, while his wife received four years and six months but was released early in January 2025. Medical intermediary Dr. Obinna Obeta received a ten-year sentence.
The case, which drew international attention, highlighted gaps in transplant regulations and prompted diplomatic discussions between Nigeria and the UK.
