UK Declines FG’s Request to Transfer Ekweremadu to Serve Sentence in Nigeria
The United Kingdom has turned down a request by the Nigerian government to have former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, transferred to Nigeria to complete his prison sentence.
Ekweremadu is currently serving a nine-year, eight-month jail term in a UK correctional facility after he was convicted in 2023 for conspiring to harvest the kidney of a young man. The case, which involved attempted organ trafficking, attracted global attention and marked the first time a UK court would convict a public official for such an offence.
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A high-level Nigerian delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, recently met officials of the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to explore the possibility of securing Ekweremadu’s transfer under international prisoner transfer agreements. The delegation requested that he be deported to Nigeria to serve the remainder of his sentence.
However, according to The Guardian UK, a source within the MoJ confirmed that the request was rejected. UK authorities reportedly expressed concern that Nigeria could not provide firm assurances that Ekweremadu would continue to serve his full sentence upon return.
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law,” the official was quoted as saying.
With the rejection, Ekweremadu will remain in the United Kingdom until he completes his prison term.
Meanwhile, his wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu—who was sentenced to four years and six months in the same case, with half of the term spent in custody—was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.
By PRNigeria
