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

 Outside the shores of Nigeria the story also commanded great attention within the UK and beyond, as the country’s reputation has not been the best to write about in recent times.

London Metropolitan Police charged the Ekweremadus with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting, a charge that adds another dimension to the stigma of trafficking which has trailed Nigerians for years.

Probing deeper into the emerging story, a source familiar with the matter, who spoke to Channels Television on condition of anonymity, said Ekweremadu’s child has been suffering from a kidney disease and needed a transplant.

The source said a donor was gotten and sent to the UK for investigation with the aim of providing a kidney. However, the source said the kidney did not match that of Ekweremadu’s child.

Subsequently the donor was scheduled to return to Nigeria but the individual refused to return and instead reported to the UK police to seek asylum, a situation which then warranted the arrest of the lawmaker and his wife.

Arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court in Uxbridge, the Ekweremadu’s pleaded not guilty to the charges which Magistrate Lois Sheard termed ‘serious allegations’ before adjourning the case until the 7th of July.

The couple were remanded in custody ahead of their hearing next month, while the ‘child’ at the centre of the storm has been safeguarded even as police continue working closely with partner agencies to get to the root of this matter.

While investigations are ongoing, here are six burning questions on the minds and lips of many all over Nigeria and across the world.