Federal Lawmakers Rise in Solidarity with Ekweremadu

Udora Orizu writes that members of the Senate and House of Representatives at the plenary last week resolved to help their embattled colleague, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who is currently being detained in United Kingdom over allegations of organ harvesting

In a show of solidarity with their embattled colleague, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives at the plenary last week resolved to apply diplomatic pressure to ensure that the he gets justice in the United Kingdom. 

The former Deputy President of the Senate and his wife, Beatrice were penultimate week arrested and remanded in the UK police custody, after they were arraigned before the Uxbridge Magistrates Court for alleged conspiracy to facilitate the travel of a young man, Ukpo Nwamini David, who was alleged to be a minor, for organ harvesting.

Their ailing daughter, Sonia, was said to have a kidney problem and has been on dialysis for some years now. Ukpo who was to donate his kidney to Sonia is now under the protective custody of the UK police. 

 Ekweremadu and his wife who were nabbed on their trip to UK are being charged under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015.

As the embattled Senator and his wife await the next sitting of the court, his colleagues in the ninth National Assembly had expressed their support and begun moves to help him during this critical time.

The House of Representatives at the plenary last Tuesday vowed to apply diplomatic pressure to ensure that the couple gets justice. The Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who presided over the session said he would “try” to meet his UK counterpart to ensure the Ekweremadus are given fair treatment.

Gbajabiamila, who made the remarks following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Abdullahi Abdulkadir, said the lower legislative chamber would use “diplomatic pressure” to ensure that “due process” was followed in the issue.

He said he had spoken with the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Sharafa Ishola, to avail Ekweremadu with all the necessary assistance that he would need to prove his case.

Gbajabiamila said, “I have spoken with the Nigerian High Commissioner (to the UK, Sharafa Ishola) who has been extremely proactive in this matter and I expressed the need for him to continue to avail Senator Ekweremadu with all the necessary assistance that he will need to prove his case. I think this should be heightened as well to the UK parliament. I would try and get in touch with the speaker of the parliament (UK) whom I was opportune to meet with and had fruitful discussions with just a couple of months ago. I believe Hon. Buba Yusuf (Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs) should also get in touch with his Foreign Affairs counterpart in the UK parliament,” Gbajabiamila explained.

The House subsequently mandated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the High Commission of Nigeria to the UK to wade into the matter. It also asked the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and banks to “swiftly respond to legitimate requests for information to facilitate the prompt resolution of the charges.”

At the upper legislative chamber, President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, disclosed that a delegation from the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs would depart Nigeria for London on July 1, 2022, to pay a visit to Ekweremadu and his wife.

Lawan who made this known while giving details into the outcome of a closed session held by the Upper Chamber before the start of plenary proceedings, urged all federal government institutions that could do anything to ensure that justice prevailed in this case, to do all they could.

He further disclosed that the Senate would engage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian High Commission in London on the arrest of Ekweremadu.

He said: “I had a personal engagement with our Nigerian High Commissioner to Britain, Alhaji Isola Sarafa, who has done so well to establish contact with our colleague, who has been able to get his team to be in the court at Uxbridge where Ekweremadu was taken to. The High Commission has also been able to provide some consular services that include the engagement of some lawyers who will defend our colleague. We commend them for giving attention to the issue at stake. Equally, the Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister has been engaged here, so that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes steps to provide diplomatic support for our colleague. 

“Because this issue is already in court, we have limited opportunity to discuss beyond what we have done so far. But I want to ensure the family of our colleague, Senator Ekweremadu and Nigerians, that the Senate will continue to engage with our ministry of foreign affairs as well as our high commission in London,”  Lawan explained.

Court Orders Immigration, Others to Release Ukpo’s Biodata to Ekweremadu, Wife

Meanwhile, as the lawmakers are exploring ways to assist the embattled senator, the case took a new dimension here at home when Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), National Identify Management Commission (NIMC), Stanbic-IBTC Bank; and United Bank of Africa (UBA) to release the certified true copies (CTC) of David Ukpo’s biodata information in their care to him.

Ekweremadu and his wife had in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2022 urged the court to among others, order the defendants to supply them with Ukpo’s biodata to aid their (plaintiffs) defence in their trial before a United Kingdom Magistrates’ Court.

Their counsel, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), in the documents he filed before the court, revealed that the senator and his wife have a daughter named Sonia Ekweremadu, who is suffering from kidney failure and which they have been managing for about five years. He added that the said daughter urgently needed kidney transplant to save her life, and that Ukpo offered to donate one of his kidneys for the daughter of the applicants if his kidney is compatible.

The senior lawyer noted that Ukpo informed the applicants that he was 21 years old, having being born in the year 2000. He added that in order to facilitate the trip to UK, the 1st applicant (Ekweremadu) supported the visa application of Ukpo with a letter to the British High Commission in Nigeria, explaining the purpose of the visit, that is, to enable him undergo medical examination in the UK so that the donor and Sonia Ekweremadu get the best of medical attention.

In the letter, dated December 28, 2021, addressed to the Visa Section, British High Commission, Abuja, Ekweremadu stated clearly the reason for the visa application on behalf of Ukpo.

Awomolo explained that after conducting various medical tests, the Royal Free Hospital in London decided that the said Ukpo was not a suitable donor because his kidney is not compatible with that of Sonia.

According to him, Ukpo was then asked to return to Nigeria but rather than do so, he approached the authorities in the UK for protection from being returned to Nigeria.

He said instead of Ukpo agreeing to return to Nigeria, he ran to the UK police that he is 15 years of age contrary to the information supplied to the applicants, which led to their arrest, arraignment and detention for the allegation that they brought a 15-year-old child (a minor) to the UK to harvest his organs.

In an originating summon filed on June 27 by Awomolo, the Ekweremadus prayed the court for an order directing the NIMC to supply them with the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata information of Ukpo.

The applicants said Ukpo’s National Identification Number (NIN): 19438077110, which is in the possession of the agency, should be produced for the purpose of facilitating the criminal investigation and tendering same to establish their innocence with respect to Ukpo’s age in the criminal charges against them before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court.

They also sought an order directing the Comptroller General of NIS to supply the applicants with the documents and application form of Ukpo in the possession of the 2nd respondent presented for the issuance of International passport No. BO0569974 for the purpose of assisting criminal investigation and tendering same before the Uxbridge Magistrates Court, UK  until July 7 in the alleged criminal charge brought against the applicants.

They also sought an order of court directing the Stanbic-IBTC Bank to supply the applicants with the CTC of mandate card and account opening package of account No. 0032551834 maintained by its customer, Ukpo, with Bank Verification Number (BVN) 22509616391 in the custody of the bank, for the purpose of tendering same to establish the innocence of the applicants with respect to his age in the criminal charges filed against the applicants.

They sought an order of court directing UBA to supply the applicants with the CTC of mandate card and account opening package of account No. 2195739574 maintained by Ukpo with Bank Verification Number 22509616391 in the custody of the bank, for the purpose of tendering same to establish the innocence of the applicants.

Awomolo said that the application was brought pursuant to Order 3, Rule 1 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2019, Sections 6 and 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

The senior lawyer, who gave 20 grounds why the prayers should be granted, said the 1st applicant (Ike Ekweremadu) is a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Enugu West Senatorial District.

Also, Bright Ekweremadu, the elder brother of the lawmaker, in the affidavit deposed to, said Ukpo informed the couple that he was 21 years old, having being born in the year 2000 and was ready to help Sonia.

After listening to the prayers, Justice Ekwo, in his ruling, said by the averments in the application by Ekweremadu and his wife, he was satisfied that their prayers were out to be granted.

He said: “I make an order granting the prayers.”