Greater than 3 years after his conviction in the UK for conspiring to milk a tender Nigerian guy for his kidney, former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu stays in jail, together with his imaginable go back to Nigeria nonetheless unsure regardless of diplomatic efforts by way of the Federal Govt.
LEADERSHIP experiences that Ekweremadu was once sentenced to 9 years and 8 months’ imprisonment on Might 5, 2023, after a UK courtroom discovered him to blame below the rustic’s Fashionable Slavery Act. His spouse, Beatrice, won 4 years and 6 months, whilst clinical physician Obinna Obeta was once sentenced to ten years.
The case arose from an try to deliver a 21-year-old Lagos boulevard dealer to Britain for a kidney transplant supposed for Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia. The younger guy was once introduced as a relative who had agreed to donate his kidney, however prosecutors established that the association concerned exploitation.
As the previous lawmaker approaches any other yr in custody, Nigerians are starting to ask questions in regards to the flesh presser’s well-being, frame of mind and existence on the whole.
What Buhari, Tinubu’s Government Did
The Tinubu-ledadministration first of all maintained that it could no longer intervene in Ekweremadu’s trial.
In August 2022, then Lawyer-Basic of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, mentioned the federal government would recognize the judicial procedure whilst ultimate open to professional requests for help.
“It hasn’t ever been the custom of the Nigerian executive to intervene in the rest judicial, native or global,” Malami mentioned.
He added that Nigeria would believe requests for global fortify via present felony preparations and that Ekweremadu would no longer be denied consular products and services if he asked them.
Following Ekweremadu’s conviction and sentencing, the Federal Govt renewed its efforts to help him via diplomatic channels.
In November 2025, President Bola Tinubu despatched a delegation led by way of International Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar and Lawyer-Basic of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi to satisfy with British officers to speak about the potential of shifting Ekweremadu to Nigeria to serve the rest of his sentence.
The transfer was once showed by way of Alkasim AbdulKadir, spokesperson for the International Affairs Minister, who mentioned consultations had been ongoing.
“An attraction for a prisoner change for him to serve the rest of his time period in Nigeria was once tabled prior to the UK government,” AbdulKadir mentioned.
Alternatively, the United Kingdom rejected Nigeria’s request, with experiences mentioning considerations over whether or not the Nigerian government may just make it possible for Ekweremadu would proceed serving his sentence after a move.
A UK executive spokesperson mentioned prisoner transfers had been authorized best after a cautious overview of whether or not they served the “pursuits of justice”.
Some other British reputable reaffirmed the rustic’s place, announcing: “The United Kingdom is not going to tolerate trendy slavery and any wrongdoer will face the overall pressure of UK regulation.”
The diplomatic setback didn’t finish broader discussions on prisoner transfers. In October 2026, Nigeria and the United Kingdom agreed to proceed operationalising their prisoner-transfer preparations and assessment related felony terminology. Alternatively, the joint communiqué didn’t announce a contemporary approval of Ekweremadu’s move.
What’s The President Considering?
The large query is: is the President afflicted by way of the Ekweremadu case? This is available in mild of the Tinubu management’s contemporary strikes to permit Nigerians convicted out of the country to serve their sentences of their house nation.
On October 27, 2026, Tinubu transmitted the Switch of Convicted Offenders Enactment and Enforcement Modification Invoice 2026 to the Senate, in search of to amend the present 2004 regulation and reinforce the felony framework for the move of convicted offenders between Nigeria and different international locations.
In his letter to the Senate, learn by way of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu mentioned the proposed modification would give impact to agreements between Nigeria and international governments at the move of convicted individuals.
The invoice would additionally permit Nigeria to go into into preparations with international locations outdoor present frameworks, topic to the related agreements and prerequisites. Akpabio referred it to the Senate Committee on Regulations and Industry for additional legislative attention.
The proposal follows different prisoner-transfer tasks by way of the management. In June 2026, Nigeria and Ethiopia signed an settlement permitting eligible Nigerian prisoners serving sentences in Ethiopia to be transferred again to Nigeria to finish their sentences in Nigerian correctional amenities.
What Nigerians Are Pronouncing
Right through his arrest and imprisonment, Ekweremadu’s conviction prompted sharply contrasting reactions amongst Nigerians, with some describing the sentence as a lesson in duty. Against this, others expressed sympathy for the circle of relatives’s catch 22 situation.
Just lately, many Nigerians had been elevating a sequence of emotional questions on his well-being and frame of mind.
After the sentencing in Might 2023, a social media consumer known as Asraf Babagana mentioned the case carried a much wider lesson for public office-holders.
“Up to I think sympathy for Ike Ekweremadu’s plight, it has a powerful message. Greed requires warning,” Babagana wrote, including that the case was once a reminder of the desire for humility.
Some other commenter, known as N3TRAL on Nairaland, described the conviction as honest and argued that the case demonstrated that affect will have to no longer exempt somebody from the regulation.
Alternatively, no longer all Nigerians agreed with the sentence. Some other commenter, known as Shotgun, described it as “no longer justice however witch searching”, arguing that the proposed donor was once an grownup. That response mirrored a strand of public opinion that wondered the severity of the punishment. Alternatively, the United Kingdom courtroom’s findings centred on exploitation and human trafficking relatively than just the donor’s age.
Former presidential aide Reno Omokri additionally expressed sympathy for the circle of relatives whilst distancing himself from their movements.
“I don’t fortify what Ike Ekweremadu and his spouse did. However I empathise with them,” Omokri mentioned in a response revealed by way of BusinessDay after the sentencing.
The reactions resurfaced when the Federal Govt sought Ekweremadu’s move to Nigeria in 2025, with supporters welcoming the transfer as an act of compassion and critics wondering whether or not a former senior flesh presser was once receiving particular remedy.
What Has Turn into Of Ekweremadu?
Ed Jacob, talking by means of X, mentioned:
“Time flies. It’s been 3 years so quickly? Confidently different politicians would be informed a lesson from this.”
Anita Eke mentioned: “I’m hoping he’s fantastic, I’m hoping his thoughts continues to be sound, I’m hoping he has learnt a lesson. That is very unhappy.”
Anayo Samuel by means of X mentioned, “
“I’m wondering how Senator Ekweremadu is coping in jail after spending years clear of his circle of relatives. No matter took place, he’s nonetheless a human being, and I’m hoping he’s in excellent well being and receiving the care he wishes. I pray God offers him and his circle of relatives the power to undergo this hard duration.”
Obiora Lewis mentioned, “Past the courtroom case and the sentence, I now and again marvel how Ekweremadu and his circle of relatives are maintaining up emotionally. Being separated out of your circle of relatives for years can’t be simple. I’m hoping he’s doing effectively bodily and mentally, and that his circle of relatives continues to search out the power to manage.”
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