The UK government has denied Nigeria’s request to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria, citing concerns over sentence enforcement
UK Rejects Nigeria’s Request to Transfer Ekweremadu to Serve Remaining Sentence at Home
The United Kingdom has turned down the Federal Government of Nigeria’s request to have former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu transferred to Nigeria to serve the remaining portion of his prison sentence.
Ekweremadu is currently serving time in a UK prison after being convicted of organ trafficking. In March 2023, he was sentenced to nine years and eight months for conspiring to exploit a young man’s kidney.
Earlier in November, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent a high-powered delegation to London to discuss Ekweremadu’s case and explore a possible prisoner-transfer arrangement. The delegation included Yusuf Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
However, according to a report by The UK Guardian, quoting an unnamed Ministry of Justice (MoJ) official, the United Kingdom rejected the request.
“A source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected. It is understood the UK government was concerned that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported,” the paper reported.
The MoJ official added, “Any prisoner transfer is at our discretion following a careful assessment of whether it would be in the interests of justice. The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, and their associate, medical doctor Obinna Obeta, were arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police in June 2022. Authorities said a 21-year-old man had been falsely presented as a cousin of their daughter, Sonia, during a planned £80,000 kidney transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
The young man later reported the incident to UK police in May 2022, claiming he had been promised work upon arrival in London.
In March 2023, a UK court found the trio guilty of organ trafficking—marking the first conviction under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act for such an offence.
Ekweremadu received a nine-year, eight-month prison term; his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, while Obeta was jailed for 10 years. Trial judge Jeremy Johnson ordered that Beatrice serve half her term in custody and the remainder on licence.
She was subsequently released in January and has since returned to Nigeria. Read More
