Nigeria’s bid to have former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, serve the rest of his UK prison sentence at home has been rejected by British authorities.
Ekweremadu is serving a nine-year, eight-month sentence in the United Kingdom after his 2023 conviction for plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man, a high-profile organ-trafficking case that drew global attention.
A Nigerian government delegation, led by Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, had met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to request Ekweremadu’s deportation so he could complete his sentence in Nigeria.
However, according to The Guardian UK, the MoJ rejected the request, citing concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee the continuation of his prison term after deportation.
A source reportedly stated: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law”.
As a result, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to serve out his sentence.
Meanwhile, his wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu, who was sentenced to four years and six months, with half served in custody, was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.
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