The mother of 22-year-old Samuel Ezekiel, who allegedly had his kidney removed after being deceived by his friend, Emmanuel Ode, has recounted how she only became aware of the incident after receiving a phone call from someone who claimed to have heard that her son had undergone the procedure.
The woman said she was unaware that Ezekiel had been taken to a hospital in Abuja, where his kidney was allegedly harvested on April 24, 2026.
Ezekiel had previously told journalists that Ode misled him into thinking they were heading to the hospital for another reason before taking him to Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja, where he allegedly underwent the kidney removal.
According to the victim, Ode assured him that the procedure would not affect his health or his ability to live normally.
He also claimed that his identity was changed to “Hassan Abubakar” during the process, while an affidavit was allegedly prepared at the Federal High Court before he was taken to the hospital.
The police later alleged that Ode recruited Ezekiel for the procedure and that his kidney was harvested for $1,250, approximately N1.7m.
The Nigeria Police Force subsequently paraded Ode, two doctors and another suspect over an alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking syndicate operating in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The suspects identified by the police were Ode, 23; Dr Benjamin Oyime, 48, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital; Dr Daniel Otukpa, 53, a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at the hospital; and David Idoko, 25.
According to the police, operatives of the Special Tactical Squad arrested the suspects during a sting operation at Auta Balefi in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on August 19.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said Ode allegedly confessed during interrogation to recruiting victims under false pretences.
The police also alleged that the syndicate preyed on vulnerable and poorly educated young people, taking advantage of their financial struggles to secure consent for illegal organ harvesting.
Investigators further alleged that documents such as victims’ names, National Identification Numbers, birth certificates, age declarations, affidavits and consent letters were forged to facilitate the procedures.
However, as the investigation continued, Ezekiel’s mother said she had no idea that her son had undergone the operation.
She said she was at her shop when an individual contacted her and informed her that her son’s kidney had been removed.
“I was in the shop one day, and someone called me to say they heard that my son’s kidney had been removed,” she said while speaking to journalists on Friday.
She explained that she immediately contacted another of her sons for clarification, but he initially said he was unaware of what had happened.
According to her, she later discovered from her younger son that Ezekiel had been taken to a hospital by Ode, after which she reported the matter to the police.
She said, “So, later, he told me that the junior one told him that Emmanuel took him to a hospital and then went and removed his kidney. So, that was how I went to the police station to report the matter.”
The woman said Ezekiel did not give her any money following the procedure.
When asked if her son brought any money home, she responded, “No, no, no.”
Ezekiel had earlier said the money he received was paid in US dollars and that he handed it to Ode to keep for him before he entered the theatre.
He alleged that following the operation, Ode converted the money and spent part of it on two phones, two power banks and two Wi-Fi devices.
Ezekiel said Ode gave him one of each item and retained the others.
The victim also disclosed that he spent roughly one week recovering at the hospital before being discharged. He said Ode then took him to a hotel, where they stayed for another two days.
According to him, Ode later took him to Cross River State, where they remained for almost three months.
Ezekiel said that when he eventually asked Ode about the money, his friend claimed it had already been spent.
He further alleged that after they ran out of transportation money while trying to return to Abuja, Ode took his phone and sold it to fund their journey.
His mother said she did not immediately realise that her son was away because he had left her home in Nyanya, Abuja, to stay with his father in Ota, Ogun State.
She explained that Ezekiel had completed secondary school, but the family was unable to afford further education for him at the time.
Instead, the family arranged for him to acquire computer-related skills.
“When he finished secondary school, he came back. He was with my elder sister in our village, where he was going to school.
“When he finished school, he came back. At that time, I didn’t have money to send him to another school. So, we paid money for him to learn computer skills.
“That was how he went to his father’s side. He was with his father in Ota, Baale, learning computer skills. I had also put him with a Ghanaian man, where he was learning 3D and painting. So, that was how he left my side and went to Ota to learn computer skills,” she said.
The mother said she became increasingly worried about her son after the police instructed her to take him back to the hospital.
She explained that Ezekiel had been moving around with his surgical stitches still in place, and the wound eventually began producing pus.
“The police then said I should take him back to the hospital because he was walking around with the stitches without removing them. When it started producing pus, they said he should go back and have the stitches removed,” she said.
She added that she subsequently took Ezekiel to the hospital, where the stitches were removed.
The police said investigations into the alleged organ-harvesting syndicate are still ongoing, adding that efforts are being made to arrest other individuals allegedly linked to the network.
The Force said the investigation formed part of its broader probe into alleged organ trafficking following claims brought to public attention by social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
The activist had earlier disclosed that a young man approached his NGO with a medical report claiming that his left kidney was missing.
According to the police, their investigation uncovered allegations involving vulnerable young people in communities across Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory.
The FCT Police Command, however, warned the public against relying on unverified claims after viral reports alleged widespread kidney selling among youths in Nyanya, Mararaba, Karu and surrounding communities.
The command said it had neither received nor confirmed claims that “nearly all” young people in the affected areas had sold their kidneys, and urged anyone with credible information about suspected organ trafficking to report to the police.