Ekweremadu absent as London court moves trial to Jan 31, wife, daughter present

The Central Criminal Court in London has shifted the trial of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, from May 2023 to January 31, 2023.

The Old Bailey agreed that arguments should be heard on the 16th or 19th of December 2022 before the commencement of the trial in January.

Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were arrested on June 23 this year and charged with conspiracy to traffic a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Ekweremadu has been in search of a kidney donor for his ailing daughter.

Though he was absent from court on Monday, his wife who was released on bail in July, and Sonia, the couple’s daughter, were present.

While in court today, the prosecutors claimed the plot was to harvest Nwamini’s organ for Sonia’s benefit.

The prosecutors told the court that the Ekweremadus and their doctor were arrested after the young man, who previously lived on the street of Lagos, turned up at Staines police station, claiming he was the victim of trafficking.

Prosecutors claimed Nwamini told police officers he 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, Nwamini said he had returned to the house he had been staying in, where he was ‘treated effectively as a slave’.

Prosecutors claimed he escaped from the house and was homeless for three days before reporting to the police.

Ekweremadu and his doctor are currently on remand in HMP Wandsworth and HMP Belmarsh respectively.

Last week, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja ordered the interim forfeiture of Ekweremadu’s assets following an ex-parte motion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).