‘Nobody Told Me About Kidney Transplant’ – Victim Testifies Against Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s Organ Harvesting Trial Continues
The organ harvesting trial of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu before a UK court has taken another twist.
The trial of the Nigerian senator continued on Tuesday at the Old Bailey court in Central England, the United Kingdom, where he is standing trial over an alleged plot to harvest the kidney of a 22-year-old street trader, David Ukpo.
The lawmaker is being tried alongside his wife, Beatrice, their 25-year-old ailing daughter Sonia, and a doctor, Obinna Obeta. They are accused of conspiring to exploit the young man for his organ.
David had accused Ekweremadu and his wife of flying him to London to harvest his organ for their daughter, who has a kidney condition.
Appearing before an Old Bailey court on Tuesday, the victim alleged that he was not told about any kidney transplant that need to be done before being brought to the European country by the Nigerian lawmaker.
David said he was sleeping rough for three nights before he turned up at Staines Police Station in May last year pleading for help.
After jurors saw a photograph of him smiling and sharing a meal with the alleged recipient, Sonia Ekweremadu, the Old Bailey court heard that he ran away after doctors decided he was not a suitable candidate.
However, in a body-worn footage shown in court on Tuesday, February 21, he appeared to be crying and distressed when he walked into the police station and spoke to a woman on reception. He told the woman repeatedly he had “no papers” having been brought into the country by a man he met in Lagos.
He said at the police station;
“He carried me to hospital to remove my kidneys. The doctor said I was too young but the man said if you do not do it here he would carry me back to Nigeria and do it there.
“I don’t know anywhere, I don’t know where I am. I was sleeping three days outside around, looking for someone to help me, save my life.”
Addressing jurors, he said; “Nobody told me about kidney transplant.”
In a video-taped interview, David told police he was treated like a “slave” at the house in London where he was staying. He claimed he was told he had to go ahead with the operation in exchange for N1.2 million (around £2,000).
The victim added; “I was afraid because I don’t know what they are going to do to me.”
Prosecutors also told the court that though the victim was given money, he had nowhere to stay so decided to ask for directions to a police station.
In Britain, it is legal to donate a kidney, but not for reward. Prosecutors say regardless of whether the Lagos street trader gave his consent, a crime was committed by the wealthy Nigerians.
At the continuation of the trial, Channels Television’s correspondent, Juliana Olayinka who also witnessed the proceedings said the court’s gallery was filled with people who were eager to monitor the events in the temple of justice.
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Speaking through an interpreter, the victim said he arrived in the UK on February 20, 2022, to provide his kidney to Sonia.
“For the first time ever, we have been hearing from a key witness which is a 22-year-old alleged victim who has been giving his own testimony via a video link. He has been speaking through an interpreter,”
Olayinka said.
“Today marks the actual day, this time last year, that he arrived in London. We know what happened after that arrival if you have been following this case extensively.
“He, of course, was to come to the United Kingdom to provide his kidney for Sonia Ekweremadu who suffers from a severe significant kidney disease.”
The Ekweremadus and medical “middleman” Obinna Obeta are charged with conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of the young man to Britain with a view to his exploitation.
The Ekweremadus who have an address in Willesden Green, north-west London, and Obeta, from Southwark, south London, deny the charge against them and the Old Bailey trial continues.
It would be recalled that the lawmaker was in June 2022, arrested at Heathrow Airport in London after Staines Police Station received a report from a young man claiming to have been trafficked into the UK.