Daughter denies organ harvesting plot
The daughter of a Nigerian senator has denied trafficking a homeless man into the UK to harvest his kidney.
Sonia Ekweremadu, 25, is charged alongside her father Ike Ekweremadu, 60, her mother, Beatrice Ekweremadu, 56, and Nigerian doctor Obinna Obeta, 50.
Ike, Beatrice and Obeta denied conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation at the Old Bailey on 20 December.
Wearing a leopard print shirt and black fur coat with dyed red hair, Sonia pleaded not guilty today (fri)
It is alleged they conspired together, with others unknown and with another family member Isaac Ekweremadu, who remains in Nigeria, to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old man with a view to exploiting him between 1 August 2021 and 5 May 2022.
They facilitated his travel from Lagos to London to remove one of his kidneys for Sonia’s benefit, it is claimed.
Sonia has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for some time, the court has heard.
Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu were arrested after the young man, who previously lived on the streets of Lagos, turned up at Staines police station, claiming he was the victim of trafficking.
The man told officers he had arrived in the UK on 20 February this year and had been taken to Royal Free Hospital for tests, none of which he consented to.
After these tests, the man said he had returned to the house he had been staying in, where he was ‘treated effectively as a slave’.
He said he escaped the address and was homeless for three days before going to the police.
A five to six week trial will begin at the Old Bailey on 31 January before High Court judge Mr Justice Adam Johnson.
Ike, a barrister and former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife Beatrice were arrested in the UK on 21 June after flying in to Heathrow from Turkey.
Ike has been elected to five consecutive terms in the Nigerian senate since 2003.
He led the Nigerian delegation at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021.
Ike has been deputy president of the senate on three occasions, which he said was akin to being Leader of the Commons in this country.
He said he has been one of the most senior lawmakers for many years, and is a well-known philanthropist.
Beatrice, who appeared in court today wearing a long navy coat, and Sonia are on bail.
Ike and Obeta are in custody in HMP Wandsworth and HMP Belmarsh respectively.
