UK rejects Nigeria's request to deport organ donor convict

The UK Government has rejected a request by Nigeria to deport a former senior Nigerian politician convicted of organ trafficking. A BBC News report says Ike Ekweremadu, a former deputy president of the Nigerian senate and ally of former President Goodluck Jonathan, is serving a sentence of nine years and eight months after being found guilty in 2023 of conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney. Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice, and a co-conspirator, Dr Obinna Obeta, trafficked a young man to London with a view to harvesting his kidney, which they planned to transplant to Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia, in a private unit of an NHS hospital. It was the first conviction for organ trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act. Last week, a Nigerian Government delegation, led by the Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, met officials at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to discuss Ekweremadu’s case. The delegation requested his deportation so he could serve his remaining sentence in Nigeria. 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. Beatrice Ekweremadu, who was sentenced to four years and six months, with half spent in custody, was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.