Tinubu Sends High-Level Delegation to UK Over Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s Case

A high-level Nigerian delegation, sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has met with officials of the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice to discuss the case of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who has been detained in Britain since March 2023 over an alleged organ-harvesting offence.

The delegation, which included Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN), was received at the Nigerian High Commission in London by Ambassador Mohammed Maidugu, the Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

The development was made public by All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Ayekooto Akindele, who shared a video of the delegation’s arrival in the UK on his official Facebook page.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, has been serving a nine-year, eight-month prison sentence handed down by a UK court in May 2023. He, along with his wife Beatrice and a medical practitioner, Dr. Obinna Obeta, was convicted of conspiring to traffic a young Nigerian man, identified as David Nwanini, to the UK for the purpose of organ harvesting.

The London Metropolitan Police arrested the couple in June 2022, alleging they intended to harvest the victim’s kidney for a transplant for their ailing daughter, Sonia. The case, which was heard at the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, attracted global attention and marked the first organ-trafficking conviction under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act.

Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, while his wife, Beatrice, received four years and six months. Their co-defendant, Dr. Obeta, was sentenced to ten years.

In January 2025, Beatrice Ekweremadu completed her sentence and returned to Nigeria. However, Senator Ekweremadu remains in detention in the UK, and the recent diplomatic engagement signals renewed efforts by the Nigerian government to address his situation through official diplomatic channels.

The outcome of the discussions between the Nigerian delegation and the UK Ministry of Justice is yet to be disclosed, but the visit underscores Nigeria’s interest in ensuring due process and exploring possible diplomatic resolutions regarding Ekweremadu’s continued incarceration.