FORMER Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice Neanneka, have been arrested and charged for bringing a child to the United Kingdom (UK) for organ harvesting.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the UK Metropolitan police in a statement.
Ekweremadu and his wife have been charged with conspiring to harvest the organ of a child who was brought from Nigeria to a London hospital.
They are set to appear at Uxbridge magistrates’ court for the alleged crime after hospital staff contacted the police.
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The investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022.
According to reports, it is unclear if the child is related to the couple and an investigation is underway into how they were allowed to bring the teenager into the country.
They were charged with “conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting”.
No further details were available today beyond a short statement from the Metropolitan Police confirming the charges against the pair.
“A child has been safeguarded and we are working closely with partners on continued support,” the statement added.
The Nigerian politician is under fire from Nigerian netizens on Twitter for saying the South-East region will not vote for the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, in the 2023 presidential election.
Despite being from the same region as Obi, Ekweremadu said the South-East can not take the risk of voting for the Labour Party.
Ekweremadu made the claim in a video that is currently trending on the social media.
He spoke shortly after Delta State governor Ifeanyi Okowa was announced as the running mate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.