Organ trafficking: Ekweremadu bags nine years, eight months imprisonment

The pair and Dr. Obinna Obeta, 50, were convicted previously of conspiring to exploit the man for his kidney.

Ike Ekweremadu, who was described by the judge as the “driving force throughout”, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.

Dr Obeta was sentenced to 10 years after the judge found he had targeted the potential donor who was young, poor, and vulnerable.

Beatrice Ekweremadu was jailed for four years and six months due to her limited involvement.

During a televised sentence hearing, Mr Justice Johnson recognised Ike Ekweremadu’s “substantial fall from grace”.

He described the politician as someone of high office with multiple properties, domestic staff, maids, chefs and drivers compared with the victim, who could not afford a £25 ticket to travel to Abuja.

Obeta, he said, had lied to doctors and falsely claimed the young potential donor was a cousin of the senator’s daughter who urgently needed a transplant.

The three had left the potential donor facing a “substantial and long-term impact on his daily life”, he said.

“People trafficking across international borders for the harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery,” the judge added.