A letter written by former Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu requesting UK visa for a male at the centre of his organ harvesting saga has emerged.
The letter dated December 28, 2021, indicated that Senator Ekweremadu declared to the British High Commission in Nigeria that their young co-traveler named Ukpo David was going to donate a kidney to his ailing daughter Sonia.
He further stated in the letter, “David and Sonia will be at the Royal Free Hospital London and I will be providing the necessary funding.”
Prosecutors told the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in London on Thursday that the minor is a 15-year-old male but Ekweremadu claimed he was 21 years old.
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Recall that Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice were in the early hours of Thursday arrested and charged for bringing a child to the UK for organ harvesting.
Under the UK law, “on summary conviction, a defendant found guilty of a trafficking offence faces up to 12 months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. On conviction on indictment, the maximum sentence is 10 years’ imprisonment.
However, where the offence involves false imprisonment or kidnapping, it is life imprisonment,” according to InBrief, a leading UK legal information website.
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It noted, “Under Section 2, an individual commits an offence if they arrange or facilitate the travel of another with a view to that person being exploited.”
The couple were charged to court on Thursday following an investigation by the force’s specialist crime team.
The police added that the investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May 2022.
Reports say the Metropolitan Police began investigating the case in May this year, before Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were arrested, along with the boy at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday.
Ekweremadu and the others were allegedly on their way to Turkey following change of plans when the police arrested them.