The United Kingdom’s Westminster Magistrates Court ruled on Thursday that the kidney donor in the case of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, is not a minor.
On June 23, Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested by British police on suspicion of human trafficking and organ harvesting, both of which violate the country’s Modern Slavery Act.
The police authorities had accused the lawmaker of conspiring to bring a child to the United Kingdom for organ harvesting, saying the victim was a 15-year-old boy.
During the continuation of the case, the prosecution accepted that he is 21 years old, contrary to earlier claims that he is 15 years old.
Giving an update from the court’s premises on Thursday, sources claimed that the court accepted that the kidney donor in Ekweremadu’s case is not a minor.
The prosecution has accepted that he is 21years old.
The court thereafter fixed August 4 as the date for the next hearing.
Just yesterday, the Federal High Court Abuja ordered the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to transmit the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata information of an alleged Minor to the Attorney General of the Federation for onward transmission to the UK to aid Ekweremadu’s trial.
The lawmaker’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, on July 27 urged Justice Inyang Ekwo to order the release of certain official documents of Ukpo domiciled with NIMC, Nigerian Immigration Service, and Stanbic-IBTC Bank for the purpose of effectively defending Ekweremadu in the UK.