UPDATED: BREAKING: UK court sentences Ekweremadu, wife, "middleman" to 26 years imprisonment – Newstrends
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UPDATED: BREAKING: UK court sentences Ekweremadu, wife, “middleman” to 26 years imprisonment

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Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice

UPDATED: BREAKING: UK court sentences Ekweremadu, wife, “middleman” to 26 years imprisonment

A former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, a medical doctor, Obinna Obeys, who served as the couple’s “middleman”, have been jailed for an organ-trafficking plot, after bringing a man to the UK from Lagos.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu

Senator Ekweremadu, 60, and his wife Beatrice, 56, wanted a new kidney for their 25-year-old daughter, Sonia, the Old Bailey Court heard.

The couple and Dr Obeta, 50, were previously convicted of conspiring to exploit the man,

BBC report said it was the first such case under modern slavery laws.

Ike Ekweremadu, who was described by the judge as the “driving force throughout”, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.

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Dr Obeta was sentenced to 10 years after the judge found he had targeted the potential donor who was young, poor and vulnerable.

Beatrice Ekweremadu was jailed for four years and six months due to her more limited involvement.

“Middleman” Dr Obinna Obeta and the senator’s wife, Beatrice, were also previously found guilty

Their victim, a poor street trader in Lagos, was brought to the UK to provide a kidney for the Ekweremadus’ daughter.

He fled in fear of his life and walked into a police station exactly a year ago to report what had happened after the Royal Free Hospital called a halt to the private £80,000 procedure.

During a televised sentence hearing, Mr Justice Johnson recognised Ike Ekweremadu’s “substantial fall from grace”.

He described the politician as someone of high office with multiple properties, domestic staff, maids, chefs and drivers, compared with the victim who could not afford a £25 ticket to travel to Abuja.

‘Form of slavery’

Obeta, he said, had lied to doctors and falsely claimed the young potential donor was a cousin of the senator’s daughter who urgently needed a transplant.

The three had left the potential donor facing a “substantial and long term impact on his daily life”, he said.

“People-trafficking across international borders for the harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery,” the judge added.

Sonia Ekweremadu was cleared of wrongdoing and watched her parents being sentenced from the public gallery

In a victim personal statement, the 21-year-old Nigerian market trader, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he used to “pray every day” to be given the opportunity to come to the UK to work or study.

He said to “make it happen” he agreed to medical tests in Lagos and meetings with doctors in London, believing they were required for his UK visa during the Covid pandemic.

The 21-year-old said he only realised what was planned when he met doctors at the Royal Free Hospital in London who began discussing a kidney transplant.

He told the court he would not had have agreed to it, adding: “My body is not for sale.”

The victim is now being helped by a charity in the UK, according to his lawyer in Nigeria.

In his statement, he said he “can’t think about going home to Nigeria”, as “these people are extremely powerful and I worry for my safety”.

He also refused to apply for financial compensation from the Ekweremadu family, telling a detective he “did not need or want anything from the bad people”.

‘First conviction’

Hugh Davies KC, prosecuting, said all three defendants were guilty of trafficking with the highest level of culpability.

Lynette Woodrow, deputy chief crown prosecutor and national modern slavery lead at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it had been “our first conviction for trafficking for the purposes of organ removal in England and Wales”.

She said it highlighted an important legal principle which made it irrelevant whether the trafficking victim knew he was coming to the UK to provide a kidney.

“With all trafficking offences,” Ms Woodrow said, “the consent of the person trafficked is no defence. The law is clear; you cannot consent to your own exploitation.”

In the wake of the case the Metropolitan Police and CPS have been working with hospitals and the Human Tissue Authority about actions they should take when concerns about organ trafficking are raised.

UPDATED: BREAKING: UK court sentences Ekweremadu, wife, “middleman” to 26 years imprisonment

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Police nab fake inspector, recover stolen cars

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Rivers State Police Commissioner, Olatunji Dosu

Police nab fake inspector, recover stolen cars

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested a fake Inspector who engages in armed robbery and car snatching, among other crimes. 

This was disclosed by the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Olatunji Dosu while parading the suspect among other suspected criminals on Wednesday.

According to the Dosu, Monday Igbali, the fake inspector, was a former sergeant who was dismissed after being charged in a kidnapping case in 2021.

He noted that three fancy cars were recovered from Igbali, who runs a gang of five criminals.

Dosu states, “The command commenced an investigation in response to a report filed on August 11, 2023, by one Fibika Kingsley that his Lexus EX330 had been stolen at gunpoint along Agip Road by five gunmen.’’

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“The investigations led to the arrest of one Monday Igbali, aged 43, a native of Okwuzi in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State.

“He is a former police sergeant who was dismissed after being indicted in a kidnapping case in 2021.

“Since his dismissal, he has continued to parade himself as a police officer, even claiming to be an Inspector of Police, a rank he did not attain before his dismissal.

“He works with a gang of five, with four gang members still at large.

“He has robbed a total of nine cars and sold them for between N1.3m and N2.5m each. He was arrested on March 8, 2024, at his home in Chokocho, Etche, after the police conducted due surveillance following investigations.

“We have recovered three cars from him: a Lexus 330, a Lexus IS250, and a Toyota Highlander.”

Police nab fake inspector, recover stolen cars

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Breaking: Military releases FirstNews editor, Segun Olatunji

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Breaking: Military releases FirstNews editor, Segun Olatunji

The military has finally released Segun Olatunji, editor of FirstNews, who has been in their custody since March 15.

Olatunji was released on Thursday to Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) General Secretary Iyobosa Uwugiaren and The Nation Deputy Editor Yomi Odunuga under a bridge in Asokoro, Abuja.

It was also learnt that the documents for his release were signed inside a security vehicle with heavily armed operatives.

The security agents were said to be masked and the number plates of their vehicles covered up.

The editor was abducted by armed men in his home in Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos, on March 15.

His family members were kept in the dark on his whereabouts and why he was arrested.

Several groups, including the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors, almost daily mounted pressure on the government for Olatunji’s release.

On Wednesday, the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute said the journalist was in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

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BREAKING: Court orders military to release 313 suspected terrorists

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BREAKING: Court orders military to release 313 suspected terrorists

A Federal High Court in Borno State has ordered the release of at least 313 suspected terrorists detained by the military.

The court ordered their release due to a lack of evidence to charge the suspects after the investigation.

Maj. Gen. Buba Edward, the Director of Defence Media Operations, announced this during the operational briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

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He said, “The court ordered the release for want of evidence after the conclusion of investigation and other ancillary matters.

“Accordingly, they would be handed over to the Borno State Government for further action.”

BREAKING: Court orders military to release 313 suspected terrorists

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