Key Highlights
- The former president wrote to the U.K. court clerk to appeal to the U.K. government on Ekweremadu’s case.
- He told the clerk that he is aware of their condemnable act but that he should intervene for the sake of their sick daughter
- He also asked the clerk to appeal to the U.K. government to consider their good character and parental instinct when punishing them.
Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of Nigeria has written the United Kingdom asking them to temper justice with mercy on the matter of Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice.
Recall Nairametrics had reported that Senator Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were found guilty for Organ harvesting by a U.K Court in Old Bailey.
Obasanjo’s letter was addressed to the Chief Clerk of the court which found the couple guilty of organ harvesting in the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.
Obasanjo’s Plea
The former president pleaded with the clerk to intervene for the sake of ekweremadu’s daughter whose current health condition is in danger and requires urgent medical attention
He noted that he realizes the implications of their action that is condemnable and can’t be tolerated in any sane society however, for the sake of Ekweremadu’s position in the Nigerian parliament, and his sick daughter, the clerk should intervene and appeal to the U.K government to consider their good character and parental instinct when punishing them.
He said he hopes the Couple has learned from this experience to guide their future actions.
Some part of the letter reads “I am Olusegun Obasanjo, a soldier commissioned into the British Army of the West African Frontier Force in 1958 and rose to the rank of a full General in the Nigerian Army. I received the surrender of the Biafran Army at the end of the Nigerian civil war. I was military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and elected President from 1999 to 2007.
It is with great pleasure that I write in respect of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who I have known for over two decades. Within this period, I have followed and watched, with keen interest, Ike Ekweremadu’s inspiring career which traversed private legal practice and public administration. I recall, with fond memories, the beginnings of our political and social relations at the outset of our collective quest for democratic rebirth for our fatherland. During my administration as a democratically-elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, Ike Ekweremadu and I had close relationship and interactions as staunch members of our political party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and more so as he got elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003, of which he has since remained a member till date.
- “Ike Ekweremadu’s conferment with the coveted national honor of Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR, is further testimony to his selfless service to our country, Nigeria.
- “Mr. Chief Clerk, I am very much aware of the current travails and conviction of Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the United Kingdom resulting from their being charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old from Nigeria to the UK in order to harvest organs for their daughter.
- “I do realize the implications of their action and I dare say, it is unpleasant and condemnable and can’t be tolerated in any sane or civilized society.
- “However, it is my fervent desire for very warm relations between the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Nigeria; for his position as one of the distinguished Senators in the Nigerian Parliament, and also for the sake of their daughter in question whose current health condition is in danger and requires urgent medical attention, you will use your good offices to intervene and appeal to the court and the government of the United Kingdom to be magnanimous enough to temper justice with mercy and let punishment that may have to come to take their good character and parental instinct and care into consideration.
- “I do hope Mr. and Mrs. Ekweremadu have learned from this distressing experience of theirs to guide their future actions or inactions so they will continue to be outstanding members of their community and will continue to contribute fully to the good of society in particular and the nation in general.”
Ekweremadu story
The Senator and his wife Beatrice were arrested on June 21, at Heathrow Airport following their arrival from Turkey.
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.
Subsequently, they were arraigned on June 23, before the Uxbridge magistrate court in London for charges bordering on alleged conspiracy and organ harvesting.
Beatrice was granted bail leaving the former deputy senate president in custody.
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.
In March 2023, Ekweremadu was convicted after the court found him guilty under the Modern Slavery Act.
The court also found Beatrice, and a medical doctor, Obinna Obeta guilty.
The 50-year-old doctor, Obinna Obeta from Southwark, South London was accused of plotting with the couple to traffic the 21-year-old.
A very good move coming from an elder statesman. Former president Obasanjo’s appeal on behalf of Ekweremadu reminds one of what countries would do on behalf of their citizens undergoing such travails. The Nigeria country abandoned her serving senator to his fate at a time he needed them most. This move by ex-president Obasanjo has endeared him to most Nigerians. May God continue to prosper him to enable him to continue to render selfless service to our fatherland. Amen.
@Okhifo, so (pursuant to your logic) you’re saying that Nigeria should instead have “abandoned” the other Nigerian citizen, the 21-year-old who was to be used for organ “spare parts” because he is POOR and didn’t “serve” Nigeria as a senator who somehow managed to amass a reported 22 properties in Dubai, London and Nigeria, while “serving”.
Dude, the Nigerian government did the CORRECT thing by not interfering with another nation’s judicial process (especially one that treats everyone as equal under the law, unlike Nigeria’s). And while I understand Mr. Obasanjo’s human empathy, he should please let the Ekweremadus serve their DESERVED time.
@NextGen. Former president Obasanjo did not appeal to the UK authorities to free Senator Ekweremadu. Rather he appealed that the punishment which will follow the conviction be lightened or reduced considering the reasons he highlighted. This is what one should expect from the Nigeria authorities. We have heard or read about countries such as the US, France, the UK, etc interceding on behalf of hard drug convicted citizens of theirs to the authorities in Bangkok. Why do you think they do this even when they know that this set of criminals has been convicted. This is because the lives of these convicts matter to them. We are not in the barbarian period where the principle of an Eye for an eye and a Tooth for a tooth held sway. Justice is not better swerved that way. A light prison sentence, and the public shaming which the saga has generated since last year June, are enough to meet the end of justice for the convicted Senator Ekweremadu. It is in this direction that Obasanjo’s appeal is situated. Nigeria must not abandon its citizens abroad to the vagaries of life. Convicted Senator Ekweremadu remains a Nigerian citizen. He must not be abandoned like a common criminal.
Not so sure its a good move. OBJ and his letters are becoming an embarrassment!
We should not be quick to excuse the use of power and position to influence things. The road to hell is paved with good intention.
I empathise with the family and their ailing daughter but there are many others with the same condition in Nigeria that will not have this privilege. In a sane society, all lives matter; the rich man’s daughter shouldn’t be more valuable than those who are not rich.
A call to all Nigerians that we need to make Nigeria work for everyone!
The greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its weakest member.
In this disturbing saga, a member of Nigeria’s political and economic elite attempted to exploit an economically disadvantaged individual for organ harvesting. Despite efforts by Senator Ekweremadu’s supporters to portray him as a sympathetic figure trying to save his daughter’s life, it is clear that he had no qualms about using unethical and morally questionable means to harvest the organs of a fellow citizen.
Once again, Obasanjo, Ekweremadu, and other current leaders in Nigeria are displaying their lack of understanding and responsibility towards serving the underprivileged members of society. They appear to believe that the nation should only serve the interests of the powerful, wealthy, and well-connected individuals like Ekweremadu, while disregarding the plight of the less fortunate. How can the medical needs of Ekweremadu’s family members outweigh the literal integrity of another human’s body and organs?
I’m curious to know if OBJ has ever written any similar letters on behalf of other less politically advantaged Nigerian citizens who have been embroiled in criminal cases elsewhere in the world, and what his own record was as President in providing the nuanced clemency to criminal actors within Nigeria.