UK Rejects FG’s Request to Free Ekweremadu From Prison

The United Kingdom, UK, has declined Nigeria’s request to allow former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to complete his prison sentence in Nigeria. Ekweremadu is serving a custodial term in Britain following his conviction for organ trafficking. He was found guilty in 2023 and handed a prison sentence of nine years and eight months after being convicted of conspiring to exploit a young man by removing his kidney. Recently, a high-ranking delegation dispatched by President Bola Tinubu met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice in an effort to address Ekweremadu’s situation. The team was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, alongside the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi. This diplomatic engagement occurs at a time when legal interactions between both countries have become increasingly sensitive, particularly in cases involving high-profile Nigerians facing prosecution abroad. The former senator, along with his wife Beatrice and a medical practitioner, had been convicted in March 2023 for offences linked to arranging the travel of a young man to the UK with the intention of exploiting him for his kidney, an act prohibited under the Modern Slavery Act. Ekweremadu’s sentence of nine years and eight months underscored the gravity of the offense and marked the first conviction of its kind under the legislation. FG’s Request to Release Ekweremadu The United Kingdom, UK, has declined Nigeria’s request to allow former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to complete his prison sentence in Nigeria. Ekweremadu is serving a custodial term in Britain following his conviction for organ trafficking. He was found guilty in 2023 and handed a prison sentence of nine years and eight months after being convicted of conspiring to exploit a young man by removing his kidney. Recently, a high-ranking delegation dispatched by President Bola Tinubu met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice in an effort to address Ekweremadu’s situation. The team was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, alongside the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi. This diplomatic engagement occurs at a time when legal interactions between both countries have become increasingly sensitive, particularly in cases involving high-profile Nigerians facing prosecution abroad. The former senator, along with his wife Beatrice and a medical practitioner, had been convicted in March 2023 for offences linked to arranging the travel of a young man to the UK with the intention of exploiting him for his kidney, an act prohibited under the Modern Slavery Act. Ekweremadu’s sentence of nine years and eight months underscored the gravity of the offense and marked the first conviction of its kind under the legislation.

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Tinubu Sends Top Officials To UK To Discuss Ike Ekweremadu’s Detention

A Nigerian delegation dispatched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu held talks with officials of the UK Ministry of Justice on November 10, focusing on the detention of former Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu. Ekweremadu has been held in the UK since March 2023 following his conviction for conspiring to bring a young man to Britain to exploit him for his kidney, a violation of the Modern Slavery Act. He was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, marking the first verdict of its kind under the law. The delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Attorney General and Minister of Justice Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi. After the meeting, they were received at the Nigerian High Commission in London by Acting High Commissioner Mohammed Maidugu. The intervention highlights the Tinubu administration’s renewed diplomatic effort on a high-profile legal case involving a Nigerian public figure. It follows a history of Nigeria engaging with the UK legal system on prominent matters, including the prosecution of former Delta State Governor James Ibori for fraud and money laundering and the P&ID arbitration case, in which a London court overturned a multi-billion-dollar award against Nigeria due to evidence of fraud and bribery.

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