Organ Harvesting: After 42 days in detention Ekweremadu returns to court
The trial of former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who has been in detention in the UK for the past 42 days, will continue Thursday.
Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were on 23 June arrested in the UK by London Met Police and charged with conspiracy to traffic a boy to the United Kingdom in order to harvest organs.
According to the prosecutors, the couple has a daughter who has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for quite some time.
They added that they believe the plan was to use an organ from the boy on their daughter who needs a kidney transplant.
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In a turn of events, David Nwamini (alleged victim of trafficking) told doctors he was 15 and was coerced by the Ekweremadus into donating his kidney.
However, the Nigerian government said all its records show that Mr Nwamini was not a minor and was 21 years old.
The Westminster Magistrate Court in the United Kingdom later ruled that he is not a minor.
The Ekweremadus are facing charges of conspiring to traffic a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The case was transferred to Central Criminal Court in London popularly known as Old Bailey where Mrs Ekweremadu was granted bail on stringent conditions. But the senator was denied bail because he was said to be a flight risk.
The trial preparation hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday and a subsequent trial next year.
Organ Harvesting: After 42 days in detention Ekweremadu returns to court