The Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London has denied bail to former Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice over claims that they trafficked a 15-year-old boy from Lagos to the UK with the intent to harvest his organ.
The prosecutors at the court this afternoon, said the Ekweremadu's were being charged for bringing the 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK with the claim that he was to be given a better life in the UK but was actually to harvest his organ. The prosecutors told the court that the former Senate President procured a passport for the boy and claimed he was 21 years old but discovered that he was 15 years old.
The prosecutors also told the court that the Ekweremadu's have a daughter who has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for quite some time. They told the court that it is believed that the plan was to use an organ from the boy on their daughter who appears to need a kidney transplant.
Ekweremadu and his wife had separate legal representations and prayed the court to release them on bail but their prayer was however dismissed by the Magistrate. The couple has surrendered their passports to the UK government.
The couple was arrested at Heathrow airport, on their way to Istanbul, Turkey and according to the prosecutors, it is believed that they were on their way to procure another organ as they were unable to harvest the organ of the boy. The prosecutors also stated that $20, 000 was found on Mr. Ekweremadu.
The red flag the organ was not harvested after the boy truthfully disclosed his age to the doctors at the Royal Free hospital. in the UK. The doctor canceled the procedure and the boy was immediately taken into the custody of the family who according to the prosecutors treated him like a slave until he escaped and found his way to the police where an investigation started, leading to the arrest of the couple.
After much deliberation, the Magistrate ordered their remand in custody till July 7 for the next hearing on the case.