Alleged organ trafficking: Ekweremadu, wife risk long jail term if convicted – Newstrends
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Alleged organ trafficking: Ekweremadu, wife risk long jail term if convicted

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Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice

The Specialist Crime Team of the Metropolitan Police in London has arrested a former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice.

They were arrested for alleged conspiracy to harvest the organs of a child, who is currently in protective custody.

If convicted, the couple may get a maximum of life sentence or 12 months imprisonment or a fine or both on summary conviction under the United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The Act read, “A person guilty of an offence under Section 1 or 2 is liable (a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life; (b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine or both.”

A statement by the Metropolitan Police said, “A woman and a man were charged today (Thursday) with conspiring to arrange the travel of a child into the UK 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 the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.”

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The investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022, the force said.

The PUNCH gathered that the senator’s daughter needed an organ transplant.

A source said, “One of his children needs an organ transplant. Probably, the arrangement was not tidy in the face of British laws.”

Our correspondents learnt that Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested on Tuesday at the Heathrow Airport in London en route to Istanbul in Turkey.

They were arraigned before a UK Magistrate court on Thursday.

According to the court proceedings, as reported by Arise TV monitored by one of our correspondents, Ekweremadu and Beatrice appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.

The station reported, “The alleged victim, in this case, is a homeless 15-year-old boy who was brought to the UK by Mr and Mrs Ekweremadu off the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.

“They are both charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another person with the aim of exploitation, namely organ harvesting.

“They conspired to bring a child from Nigeria, a 15-year-old boy to harvest his organ; the boy was promised a better life. The prosecutors told the court that the former Deputy Senate President procured a passport for the boy and claimed he was 21 years old but discovered that he was 15 years old.

“The court learnt that Ekweremadu’s daughter had been battling with kidney failure and has been on dialysis for a while and needed a kidney transplant. So, the boy was brought in to give one of his kidneys to the daughter.”

Reports said the doctor billed to perform the transplant suspended it after learning that the boy identified as Ukpo David, was a minor.

AriseTV further reported that the court heard, “The Royal Free (hospital) cancelled the procedure and returned the boy to the custody of the family who treated him badly and he had to run away and slept on the streets for two days.

“It was while sleeping on the streets that the boy went to the police who investigated the matter and arrested the Ekweremadus at the Heathrow Airport on their way to Istanbul, Turkey, to procure another organ because they were unable to harvest the boy’s organ.

“Ekweremadu was arrested with $20,000 in his possession which has been seized.”

The senator and his wife got legal representation and begged the court for bail, stating that their passports had been seized but the judge denied them bail and remanded them in custody till July 7, 2022.

However, a letter written to the British High Commission in Abuja in which the embattled senator sought a visa for Ukpo later surfaced on social media.

The letter dated December 28, 2021, titled, “Re: Medical visa application for Ukpo David,’ read, “I am writing in support of the visa application made by Mr Ukpo Nwamini David who is currently having medical investigations for a kidney donation to Ms Sonia Ekweremadu.

“David and Sonia will be at the Royal Free Hospital London, and I will be providing the necessary funding. I have enclosed a statement of my bank account. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require additional information.”

Meanwhile, the British High Commission told one of our correspondents that it was aware of the case.

The commission’s spokesman, Dean Hurlock, however, refused to confirm if the Mission received Ekweremadu’s letter.

Hurlock said, “We are aware that the Metropolitan Police in the UK have charged two people with conspiracy offences linked to allegations of organ harvesting. As this is a live UK police investigation, I am obliged to tell you to contact the Met office if you have any questions related to this.”

But the Met Police declined to comment on the case, stating that the case was in court.

The Senate’s spokesman, Senator Ajibola Basiru, and Ekweremadu’s media aide, Uche Anichukwu, were not available for comment.

Action sacrilegious -MASSOB

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra described the arrest of the former deputy senate president for alleged child trafficking and organ harvesting as sacrilegious.

While applauding the development, the pro-Biafra group vowed to commit Ekweremadu and his wife to the ancestors for speedy trial and judgment to serve as a “deterrent to many of their likes who are in the business of organ harvesting,” which it said had increased the wanton killings in the South-East.

MASSOB stated this in a statement signed by its National Director of Information, Edeson Samuel.

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Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK

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Olubunmi Abodund with late wife Taiwo
Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK

Olubunmi Abodunde, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, reportedly beat his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard, according to the Daily Mail.

The couple, who had three children, arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2022 and frequently feuded over reported relationships and financial disagreements.

According to the news outlet, 48-year-old Abodunde had been investigated by Suffolk Police several times for domestic abuse and was scheduled to stand trial for murder, but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday after the jury was sworn in.

During the abuse, officers heard ‘a number of fringes’ inside the house, which Abodunde had entered despite bail restrictions imposed the day before that barred him from the residence due to another violent incident.

When they arrived 25 minutes later, they discovered Taiwo, 41, with her’skull bashed in’.

However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, cautioned him that the only conceivable penalty was life imprisonment.

Suffolk Constabulary submitted itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed that three officers were being investigated.

An IOPC spokesman said, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.

“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”

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Abodunde has a history of mistrust and distrust towards his wife, accusing her of having affairs. He had been probed by police several times for alleged domestic abuse episodes prior to his wife’s murder.

He was detained on April 27 of last year, when police came to the couple’s house in Newmarket, Suffolk, and discovered Mrs. Abodunde with a split lip.

Later that day, he was released on police bail with the condition that he stay away from the marital residence and avoid approaching his wife.

However, after completing a night shift at Tesco, he returned home shortly after 9 a.m. to reportedly pick up his mobile phone.

At 9.20 a.m., two cops arrived to take Mrs. Abodunde’s testimony regarding the previous night’s incident, and they heard persistent banging inside.

But it wasn’t until 9.55 a.m. that they pushed their way in with permission from senior officers and discovered Mrs. Abodunde ‘clearly dead’ near the front entrance.

A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been throttled until unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were fractured, before her husband used the skateboard to kill her off. The hits were so hard that the skateboard was ruined.

Prosecutor Simon Spence KC told the court that the hammering officers heard was most likely caused by Abodunde continuing to assault his wife after she was unconscious or dead.

Mrs. Abodunde worked as a care home assistant in Cambridge, but her husband, a civil engineer by training, was unable to find work and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.

Following his arrest for the murder, Abodunde was taken to the hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode.”.

He later argued in a police statement that he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.

“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife. I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”

However, the court heard that, while he had a hand injury, no knife was found near his wife’s body.

Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, said the amount of violence was ‘completely out of character’ for her client and could have been influenced by the medicine he was on. However, she stated that no medical evidence would be supplied to back her assertion.

Following the court, Suffolk Police Detective Inspector Dan Connick stated, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a long-term impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.”

“We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.

“Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends, and we hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.”

Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK

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Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina

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Major AG Mohammed

Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina

Barely one week after Nigerian Army lost two captains and four other soldiers in a deadly ambush in Niger State, another officer has lost his life to bandits’ attacks in Katsina State.

According to a report by security analyst and counter insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, on Friday, Major AG Mohammed, died while confronting bandits.

“The news of the demise of Major Ag Mohammed of 17 brigade Katsina state, Operation Hadarin DAJI, is indeed heart wrenching.

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” Mohammed paid the supreme price while combating bandits in the North West of Katsina State. Until his death he serves as the command Covering yantumaki,Dan Ali and Kankara Axis. He was one of the most gallant, courageous and highly dedicated officers.

Nigeria has lost many gallant officers and soldiers to the bullets of Boko Haram (BH) insurgents, banditry, and other insecurities.

We therefore acknowledge with respect the services of our heroes—some of whom we admire for their courage, and outstanding achievements coupled with noble qualities that have laid down their lives for us to live,” the security expert said in a post on X handle.

Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina

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Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms

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Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms

Eleven members of a suspected cult group who allegedly terrorised the inhabitants of the Ihembosi community in Anambra State’s Ekwusigo Local Government Area have been apprehended by Zone 13 Police Headquarters operatives in Ukpo.

The defendants were arrested for allegedly trespassing on Las Vegas Hotels Limited’s premises in Ubahu village.

About 12 more members of the group are believed to be on the run as authorities continue to pursue them.

According to a police source who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the agency, the suspects were arrested on Monday in response to a strongly worded petition to Godwin Aghaulor, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 13 Police Command. The Zone 13 Police Command oversees police forces in Anambra, Enugu, and parts of Ebonyi states.

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Aghaulor, who verified the suspects’ arrests at his office on Thursday, stated that the police will conduct discreet investigations into the case to determine the intentions behind the action, while a manhunt has been begun to apprehend the fleeing criminals.

Chief Omenife Onwuatu, the proprietor of Las Vegas Hotels Limited, petitioned the AIG for his intervention to curb the menace of the cultist group, which he claimed invaded his hotel on March 10, 2024, with about 12 motorcycles, charms, cudgels, cutlasses, axes, and other dangerous weapons and terrorised the hotel’s owners, management, and staff, threatening to kill anyone in sight.

Onwuatu, who is also the Chairman of Ubahu village, had previously warned the group to stop performing rituals in front of the nearby stream and to relocate their shrine to its base, but his warning did not go down well with the suspects, whom he simply identified as “idol worshippers, who earn their living through rituals.”

Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms

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