The Federal Government is exploring options to secure the transfer of former Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who is serving a nine-year sentence in the United Kingdom for organ harvesting.
On Monday, a high-level Nigerian delegation met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice in London.
The team included Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Attorney General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi. The delegation was later received at the Nigerian High Commission by Acting High Commissioner Mohammed Maidugu.
Sources indicate that the discussions form part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to secure either Ekweremadu’s early release or a review of his sentence on humanitarian and legal grounds.
Officials are said to be exploring prisoner-transfer arrangements, compassionate parole, or other UK-legal remedies.
“We are working on an appeal for a prisoner exchange for him to serve the remainder of his term in Nigeria,” a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Daily Trust, adding that “consultations are still ongoing with the UK authorities.”
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Ekweremadu, a three-time Deputy Senate President, was convicted at London’s Old Bailey in March 2023 alongside his wife, Beatrice, and medical doctor Obinna Obeta.
They were found guilty of conspiring to exploit a young Nigerian man, David Nwamini, for the removal of his kidney to treat Ekweremadu’s ailing daughter.
Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, while Beatrice received four years and six months, and Dr. Obeta ten years.
Beatrice Ekweremadu was released in January 2025 and has since returned to Nigeria, but her husband remains incarcerated in the UK.
