Key Highlight
- An old Bailey court in the United Kingdon has found senator Ike Ekwerenmadu guilty of organ trafficking
- The court also found his wife Beatrice guilty alongside a doctor Obinna Obeta.
- They will be sentenced on May 5, 2023.
A United Kingdom Court has convicted Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy senate president for organ trafficking.
He was convicted on Thursday after the court found him guilty under the Modern Slavery Act.
The court also found Ekweremadu’s wife Beatrice, and medical doctor Obinna Obeta guilty.
As reported by the UK Guardian, they were found guilty in the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.
Justice Jeremy Johnson found them guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to Britain with a view to exploiting him.
The judge did not find Sonia guilty. Justice Johnson adjourned till May 5, for sentencing.
Backstory: Recall the Senator and his wife Beatrice were arrested on June 21, at Heathrow Airport following their arrival from Turkey.
Following their arrest, they were arraigned on June 23, before the Uxbridge magistrate court in London for charges bordering on alleged conspiracy and organ harvesting.
The court denied them bail and ordered their Remand in the custody of the Metropolitan police till July 7 which was the next adjourned date.
However, Beatrice was subsequently granted bail leaving the former senate president in custody.
The judge granted bail to Beatrice subject to some fairly stringent conditions and refused to grant her husband bail.
They were accused of plotting to traffic 21-year-old David Ukpo from Nigeria to the United Kingdom to transplant his organs to their daughter who is suffering from kidney failure.
While senator Ike was charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting, Beatrice was charged with arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, between August 1 last year and May 5, under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The alleged victim had claimed he was 15 and that he was brought to donate his kidney without his consent.
As against the claim that the boy was 15, his international passport photos making rounds online in 2022 showed that he was 21 years old as it was dated October 12, 2000.
The Westminster court subsequently ruled that the Alleged victim was not a minor.
A 50-year-old doctor, Obinna Obeta from Southwark, South London was accused of plotting with the couple to traffic the 21-year-old.
