The news of the arrest of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the former Deputy Senate President, broke on Thursday to the dismay of many in Nigeria, but Clariform can confirm that the matter is still developing, and there are still so much details yet to be made available to the public.
Sketchy details of a letter written by the Enugu State born senator to the British High Commission sometime in 2021 over an application for visa for his daughter claims to have notified the UK authorities of a “medical investigations for a kidney donation to Ms Sonia Ekweremadu”, the daughter of the embattled senator.
Clariform can now confirm the existence of this letter, and can also independently confirm the authenticity of it. A Clariform reporter was reached out to by a close ally of Senate Ekweremadu, Barr Zeph Onwuzurike, who also provided a copy of the said letter.
The said letter from Ekweremadu to the UK High Commission is reported to have also specifically pre-informed the authorities that his daughter and the kidney donor “will be at the Royal Free Hospital London”.
He also specifically requested the UK High Commission to seek for further details from him (Ekweremadu) should they require more details about the visa application.
“Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require additional information. Please accept the assurances of my highest regards.” He wrote.
It is currently not clear if the boy accusing the senator and his wife of suspected tracking for the purpose of organ harvesting, was travelling with this same visa obtained through a visa application with the said letter as part of the supporting documents.
While it is noted that the UK law enforcement agencies, especially the police is known to carry out extensive investigations before carrying out an arrest, it also true that the news about the current case against the Nigerian senator is still very sketchy.
In a press release by the London Metropolitan Police, which carried out the arrest, it said that “As criminal proceedings are now under way we will not be providing further details.”
However, as the case further develops more of what is missing in terms of details will be found and the current gaps will be filled up.
Ekweremadu and his wife were on Thursday quickly arraigned before the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court. Their bail application was denied and they were remanded in police detention till next hearing on the 7th of July.
NOTABLE QUOTES
The Metropolitan Police news report about the incident tiled “Two people charged with conspiracy offences linked to allegations of organ harvesting”, which was update at 10:45 on Thursday reads as follows:
“A woman and a man were charged today (Thursday, 23 June) with conspiring to arrange the travel of a child into the UK in order to harvest organs.
The charges follow an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime team.
[A] Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55 (10.9.66) of Nigeria is charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
[B] Ike Ekweremadu, 60 (12.05.62) of Nigeria is charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
They appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on the same day where they were remanded in custody to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 7 July.
The investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022.
A child has been safeguarded and we are working closely with partners on continued support.
As criminal proceedings are now under way we will not be providing further details.”
