United Kingdom (UK) Metropolitan Police have declined comments on the reported health condition of the former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is being detained in London over charges of organ harvesting.
Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia, through her verified instagram page on Monday, had revealed that her father had been “diagnosed with acute kidney damage while being incarcerated in London.”
LEADERSHIP yesterday sought clarifications from the London Metropolitan Police over the claims of the lawmaker’s daughter and whether or not the UK authorities would release him on health grounds.
However, Pete Davey, from the Press Bureau of the Directorate of Media and Communications, Metropolitan Polices Service told our correspondent that “This would be for the Ministry of Justice, though I’d suggest they’d be unlikely to discuss a person’s medical situation with you.”
At the time of filing this report, efforts by LEADERSHIP to get the response of the UK Ministry of Justice did not yield the desired result as the UK High Commission in Abuja, which was contacted for the information, was yet to react.
In June this year, Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested in London and charged with conspiracy to allegedly traffic a child to the UK in order to harvest his organs. It was later discovered that the alleged victim of the organ harvest was 21-year-old David Ukpo, according to official records from the Nigerian authorities.
Ekweremadu’s wife has since been released but the lawmaker’s request for bail has been turned down by the Westminster Magistrate Court. The court had earlier ruled that David Ukpo, a purported kidney donor for the daughter of Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu, is not a minor.
In Nigeria, Ekweremadu has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja to dismiss the suit filed by Ukpo to stop the release of his biodata to London Court.
Ekweremadu said in a counter affidavit against the suit that Ukpo has no basis to entertain any fear in the release of his visa application information and his bank account opening package except if he had lied on his real age.
In the counter affidavit deposed to by Bright Ekweremadu, the immediate younger brother of the embattled senator, Ekweremadu denied the allegations that he demanded for Ukpo’s biodata.
Rather, the deponent averred that what the Federal High Court ordered to be released to the London Court was Ukpo’s bank account opening package and the information supplied in his visa application request.
At any rate, Ekweremadu said based on the July 1, 2022 order of the court, the required documents had since been transmitted to two different courts in the UK.
The senator averred that it was too late for Ukpo to seek the reversal of a valid order that had been executed to determine his real age only.
He therefore prayed the court to dismiss the suit for being frivolous, abuse of court and lacking in merit having been overtaken by event.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Ukpo’s lawyer, Mr Ojonugwa Oguche, prayed the court to adjourn the matter for him to react to the counter affidavit.
The request was granted and the matter was fixed for September 20, 2022 for hearing by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo.
Ekweremadu was represented by, Mr Eyitayo Fatigun (SAN).
Ukpo had on August 30, 2022, asked the court to set aside its July 1, 2022, order for the release of his biodata for use in a London court in Ekweremadu’s trial.
He had while faulting the proceedings of the court that led to the issuance of the order, claimed that his fundamental rights to fair hearing and personal privacy had been grossly breached.
His grouse was that neither he nor the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) as chief law officer of the federation, was made a party in the suit.
The application for the release of bank account opening package was argued by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and was granted by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo, prompting the AGF to transmit the records to the London Court in compliance with order of the Nigerian court.
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