A LEGAL practitioner, Kayode Ajulo, has said the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6, is a good avenue to seek for pardon on behalf of the embattled former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
The ICIR reported that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, who were found guilty of organ trafficking in March had been sentenced in what became a landmark judgment in the United Kingdom (UK).
This is the first time anyone would be convicted under the UK Modern Slavery Act for an organ harvesting conspiracy.
Ekweremadu would be jailed for nine years and eight months.
His wife Beatrice was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment, while the family doctor Obinna Obeta received a 10-year prison term.
Speaking on Channels TV on Friday, May 5, Ajulo noted that the correspondences written to plead for the release of Ekweremadu were attempts to truncate the legal process.
He noted that the letters were not the best solution.
“Now that Ekweremadu has been sentenced, this is the time to do that (ask for pardon). Tomorrow King Charles III will be coronated as the King of England, as the Head of State.”
The legal practitioner stressed that King Charles’ coronation could be used as an opportunity to solicit for royal prerogative.
“There is what is called royal prerogative for pardon, I believe anybody that wants to write a letter, anybody that wants to make a plea for Ekweremadu, this is the best time to ask the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. That is His Majesty King Charles III to pardon Ekweremadu.
“The precedent has been there since as far back as 1717, King George did the same. In 2003 and even as close as 2021, the same thing happened. Sovereigns can do that and I believe that is the plea we need to do for Ekweremadu, not to be writing and interfering with the conduct of the court.”
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the House of Representatives and the Senate all wrote to the UK court to plead for leniency for Ekweremadu.
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