In the first conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act, Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, and their doctor Obinna Obeta were all found guilty. Ekweremadu previously served as the Deputy Senate President.
After a six-week trial at the Old Bailey, Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, and Obeta, 51, were found guilty of aiding the travel of a young man to Britain with the intent of exploiting him.
The jury determined that they engaged in criminal coordination to lure the street vendor from Lagos, age 21, to London in order to take advantage of him for his kidney.
After they allegedly lured a young man from Nigeria to have his organs harvested for their sick daughter Sonia, Ekweremadu and his wife were charged in the UK.
After the young man complained to UK authorities about their alleged plans to harvest his organ, the lawmaker was detained and arrested last year.
Hugh Davies KC, the prosecutor, told the court on Thursday that Ekweremadus and Obeta viewed the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward.” He described their interaction with the man as a “emotionally cold commercial transaction.”
According to Davies, Ekweremadu’s actions demonstrated “entitlement, dishonesty, and hypocrisy.” Ekweremadu is a successful attorney and the founder of a charity that fights poverty. He helped draft Nigeria’s laws against organ trafficking.
He claimed that multi-property owner Ekweremadu, who employs 80 people, “agreed to reward someone for a kidney for his daughter – someone in poverty from whom he distanced himself and made no inquiries, and with whom, for his political protection, he wanted no direct contact.”
According to Davies, what he agreed to do was not just practical for his daughter Sonia’s medical needs; it was also exploitation and illegal. Saying that he did it out of love for his daughter is not a defense. Her medical needs cannot be satisfied at the expense of exploiting a person in need.
Ekweremadu, who denied the charge, told the court that he had been the victim of a con. Obeta, who also denied the charge, claimed the man was not offered a monetary reward for his kidney and was acting in good faith. Beatrice denied knowing anything about the alleged conspiracy. Sonia did not appear in court.
Mr. Justice Jeremy Johnson, the judge, will render his decision at a later date.
