A United Kingdom, UK, court has granted bail to Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, the wife of former Nigeria’s deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
AbaCityBlog reports that Ekweremadu and his wife were accused of plotting to traffic a 21-yr-old Nigerian man into the UK to harvest a kidney for their daughter, who suffers from kidney failure.
Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday for a bail hearing, however, the husband was denied bail.
Granting the bail application filed by the duo, the prosecuting judge, Richard Marks, said: ‘The position is that I have granted bail to Beatrice subject to some fairly stringent conditions but I have refused bail to Ike.’
Meanwhile, Beatrice is charged with arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, between August 1 last year and May 5, under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
While Senator Ekweremadu is charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
The couple are due to appear at the Old Bailey on 4 August.
How It All Started
‘The case began on 5 May 2022 when the complainant (a 21-yr old Nigerian man) presented himself at Staines Police Station and claimed he had been transported to this country for the purpose of his kidney being removed.
‘He arrived on 20th February 2022 and was taken to Royal Free Hospital where tests were conducted.
‘For the purpose he was there he did not consent to the taking of his kidney.
‘He returned to the house he was staying and his treatment changed dramatically.
‘He described being treated effectively as a slave.’
The victim allegedly escaped the address and was homeless for three days before he turned up at Staines Police Station.
Ike and Beatrice were arrested in the UK on 21 June after flying in to Heathrow from Turkey.
