On Thursday, a Nigerian politician and his wife were charged in London for plotting to have a 15-year-old boy brought into the United Kingdom to harvest his organs, The Guardian reported.
According to the police, 60-year-old Ike Ekweremadu along with his wife, Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55 were both brought into Uxbridge magistrates court in west London on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to harvest organs.
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The couple will be kept in custody until their next court appearance on 7 July.
Ike Ekweremadu is the former deputy senate president and is currently the opposition senator in the southern state of Enugu.
Following reports made of possible offences which come under the modern slavery legislation, the police were alerted regarding the couple’s alleged plan.
The couple was arrested at Heathrow airport before they flew to Turkey on Tuesday and they have denied all allegations against them.
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The child that was involved has been taken to safety and work is underway to provide the child with additional support.
“It is a conspiracy in relation to human trafficking offences for the purposes of organ harvesting,” The Guardian quoted prosecutor, Damla Ayas.
According to the prosecution, the attorney general’s consent was needed for the case proceedings to begin due to some jurisdictional issues.
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Prosecutor Ayas also added, “They were interviewed at the police station. Both of the defendants have provided a prepared statement. Mr. Ekweremadu in his prepared statement denied allegations of human trafficking. He said at no stage has he arranged transport for anyone with the intention to exploit them.”
The chief executive of the London-based charity Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (Afruca), Debbie Ariyo told The Guardian, “Organ harvesting is a massive problem in Nigeria itself. This is the first prosecution in the UK that I’m aware of.”
(with inputs from agencies)
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