By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
THE Westminster Magistrate Court in the United Kingdom (UK) has ruled that David Ukpo, a purported kidney donor for the daughter of Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu, is, afterall, not a minor.
The court gave the ruling on Thursday when Ekweremadu, a former Deputy President of the Senate, and Beatrice, his wife, appeared before it for trial.
Stonix News reports that the senator, representing Enugu West Senatorial District and his wife, are facing charges bordering on conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another person for a purported organ harvesting.
The Metropolitan Police had alleged that Ekweremadu and Beatrice, his wife, conspired to arrange the travel of a child into the UK for organ harvesting, specifically kidney transplant.
Ekweremadu and Beatrice were, however, arrested by the London Metropolitan Police on June 23, 2022, and subsequently charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
The investigation was launched in May 2022 after detectives were alerted to potential offences under the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015.
Meanwhile, TheCable reported that a mild drama played out before the sitting of the court commenced as the ‘Take It Back’ movement had arrived the court premises very early to place placards at the entrance of the court with various inscriptions condemning medical tourism.
The placer of the placards, Citizen Gbola from the ‘Take It Back’ movement, told TheCable that he was asked to remove the placards from the entrance of the court, but was allowed to place it on the other side of the court.
Stonix News reports that the ‘Take It Back’ movement is affiliated with Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC).
The next hearing has been adjourned to August 4, 2022 while Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, are to remain in custody.
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