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The UK government has rejected Nigeria’s request to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu back home to complete his prison sentence for organ trafficking.
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UK officials reportedly said Nigeria could not guarantee he would continue serving his sentence, adding that prisoner transfers are approved only when they serve the interests of justice.
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Ekweremadu, convicted in 2023 and jailed for nine years and eight months for conspiring to harvest a young man’s kidney, remains in a UK prison while his wife has since been released and returned to Nigeria.
The United Kingdom has rejected the Federal Government’s request to allow former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, complete his prison sentence in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu is currently serving nine years and eight months in a UK prison after he was convicted in March 2023 for organ trafficking, marking the first conviction of its kind under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
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The UK’s Ministry of Justice, according to a report by The Guardian UK, declined the transfer request over concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee the continuation of his jail term if he was returned to the country.
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“A source at the MoJ confirmed the request was rejected,” the report said, noting that prisoner transfers are approved only when they serve the interests of justice.
The official added: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
President Bola Tinubu had earlier dispatched a high-level delegation — including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi — to London to negotiate Ekweremadu’s possible transfer.
Ekweremadu was arrested alongside his wife, Beatrice, and a UK-based doctor, Obinna Obeta, for attempting to traffic a young Nigerian man to harvest his kidney for their sick daughter. His wife has since regained freedom and returned to Nigeria.
