Ike Ekweremadu: “a substantial fall from grace”

On Friday 5 May, 2023 at the Old Bailey in London, senior Nigerian politician, Ike Ekweremadu, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison for his role in attempting to harvest a young man’s kidney for his ill daughter. His wife, Beatrice, was sentenced to four years and six months. Dr Obinna Obeta, the middleman in the operation, was given 10 years.

It was the first conviction for organ trafficking in a British court under the Modern Slavery Act, which came into force in 2015. The Ekweremadus’ daughter, Sonia, was cleared of the same charge back in March after jurors deliberated for nearly 14 hours. The victim, known by an alias, C, was a young street hawker in Lagos, when he was approached by Obeta and promised a better life in the UK. Slavery law in Britain protects the identity of victims.

THE SEARCH FOR A KIDNEY​

Sonia Ekweremadu, 26, suffers from a serious kidney condition, FSGS nephrotic syndrome. She was living in the UK and studying as a postgraduate student at University of Newcastle but had to drop out in 2019 to begin treatment. The condition, which is ‘potentially life-limiting or life-ending’ means she requires dialysis up to four times a week until she can receive a transplant. 

The Ekweremadus sought to find a replacement kidney for Sonia, and turned to family for help. Ike Ekweremadu’s brother, Dr Diwe Ekweremadu, knew that a former medical school classmate of his, Dr Obinna Obeta, had received a successful kidney transplant in July 2021 at the Royal Free Hospital, London. It was Diwe who connected the Ekweremadus to Obeta to aid in their search for a donor for their daughter.

The promise of a new life

In his victim impact statement, C explained how he’d been a hawker in Lagos, selling mobile phone accessories in traffic jams when Obeta offered him a chance to move to the UK for work. C said it was the kind of opportunity he’d dreamed of, but never imagined it would actually happen. 

However, on arriving in London, C’s movements were severely restricted, in fact, he never set eyes on the passport that had been secured for him to travel. “They had to control him and his documents right up to the point where the transplant took place. To protect their investment,” prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said.

Suspicions arise

C told police the first time he realised the Ekweremadus wanted his kidney was when he was undergoing examination at the Royal Free Hospital in London on 22 February, 2022, with consultant Nephrologist Dr Peter Dupont.

It was also the first time he had heard the Ekweremadus’ name. Before the appointment at the Royal Free, C had thought the medical tests he underwent in Nigeria before travelling, and subsequently in London, were needed for his British visa and stay conditions. 

Behind the scenes, doctors were concerned that C didn’t understand the gravity of the procedure he was about to undergo. In court testimony, Dr Dupont said, “he appeared to be younger than the 21 years that was presented. I wanted to explore what had motivated him to come forward. His answers were brief, single sentences, single words. He didn’t really appear to have any understanding about what it was he was signing up for.”

“He [the victim] didn’t really appear to have any understanding about what it was he was signing up for… and couldn’t afford to fund his future postoperative care.”

consultant Nephrologist Dr Peter Dupont

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HUMAN TISSUE AUTHORITY​

In the UK, the Human Tissue Authority regulates the use of human tissues, including transplants and prohibits the exchange of human organs for money, requiring donations to be altruistic. The Human Tissue Act also says donors are expected to be people with close ties to the recipient such as family members, due to the emotional and physical toll of donation.

The Ekweremadus understood this requirement and sought to prove a familial connection between C and Sonia to the doctors. They took a staged photo at a Nigerian restaurant in south London to show their supposed closeness, buying C clothes for the occasion.

When assessing a donor’s suitability, Dupont explained, “You want to hear they have an understanding and motivation to help the prospective recipient, that they’re likely to have a close relationship with a prospective recipient. I wasn’t really hearing that from this young man.” Dupont referred C  for a second consultation with a different doctor, and flagged his concerns.

The Ekweremadus redouble their efforts

Dissatisfied with how the first appointment had gone, the Ekweremadus bribed the hospital’s appointed Igbo interpreter, Evelyn Agbasonu, with £1500 to coach C and to manipulate his responses at the next appointment. 

Despite Agbasonu’s efforts however, the medical team refused to go ahead with the operation. They concluded that C was “medically borderline”, lacked the maturity needed for such a serious operation, and couldn’t afford to fund his future postoperative care.

Furthermore, the claim that C and Sonia were cousins was “far too tenuous for this to be likely to be a truly altruistic act”. The doctor described C as “visibly relieved” on being told the transplant would be cancelled, the court heard.

At one point, C was visited by two men in Obeta’s apartment in Old Kent Road, south London. One of them, said to be a doctor, pressed on his stomach. He overheard a conversation which made him fear his kidney would be removed when he returned to Nigeria.

This was when C ran away, sleeping rough on the streets of London for three days, before walking into Staines police station several miles away on 5 May, 2022. He told officers he was “looking for someone to save my life”.

He overheard a conversation which made him fear his kidney would be removed when he returned to Nigeria. [C] told officers he was “looking for someone to save my life”.

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An investigation begins

The Metropolitan Police runs a Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit, which has a round-the-clock team. They began investigating immediately. The team recorded eight hours of video statements from C, where he recounted his tough existence in Lagos, the life-changing opportunity he received to come to the UK, and how it all soured.

The investigators contacted the British Home Office and discovered that the medical visa for C was sponsored by prominent Nigerian senator Ike Ekweremadu.

On learning that the Ekweremadus were no longer in the UK, one of the lead investigators, Detective Sergeant Andy Owen, thought the Ekweremadus had evaded justice, “we believed the Ekweremadus would never return… I specifically remember a meeting with my team, where I was preparing them for an investigation that would go on for years.”

However, just hours later on 21 June, 2022, the investigators were told the Ekweremadus were on a plane from Turkey to London, where they were meant to be transiting to Nigeria. They scrambled a team to make the arrests, meeting the aircraft on the runway, before removing and arresting Ike and Beatrice. The equivalent of £30,000 cash in U.S. dollars and naira was found in the Ekweremadus’ possession.

“We believed the Ekweremadus would never return… I was preparing them [my team] for an investigation that would go on for years.”

Detective Sergeant Andy Owen

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Incriminating evidence

The defendants’ phones were found to contain conversations between them which showed their culpability. WhatsApp messages revealed Ike Ekweremadu, communicating with Obeta through his brother Diwe, was asked to pay £2,000 to Obeta, and £6,000 to C for the kidney, while the operation at the Royal Free would cost £80,000. During his testimony, C told the court he would not have agreed to sell a kidney, adding: “My body is not for sale.”

Detectives used the messages to create a complete timeline of events, from initial conversations about finding a donor, to travel within Nigeria, medical tests undertaken, and securing a passport and visa for C.

The investigators also discovered that within weeks of C running away, the Ekweremadus had started sending each other pictures of potential new donors for a transplant to take place in Turkey, with Sonia replying to her father in one message, “the dark one looks better. The light one looks like he will run away.”

After examining C’s phone, detectives were able to identify Obeta’s address, where C had been staying. Next, they secured a warrant to search Obeta’s home on 12 July 2022 where they found a copy of C’s birth certificate, the £8,000 fee paid to Obeta in cash and a fraudulent, unsigned high court affidavit which falsely stated that Sonia and C were biological cousins.

“the dark one looks better. The light one looks like he will run away.”

Sonia Ekweremadu commenting on pictures of potential new donors

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Playing dumb at the Old Bailey

The trial commenced on the 6th February and lasted almost 8 weeks. It was held at the historic Old Bailey in London, which hears major criminal cases. Ike, Beatrice and Sonia Ekweremadu and Dr Obinna Obeta were charged under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 with conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of a young man with a view to exploitation between 1 August 2021 and 5 May 2022.

Confusingly, Ike Ekweremadu’s defence tried to present C’s kidney donation as altruistic, while simultaneously painting the senator as a victim of a fraud which sought to extort money from him, taking advantage of his desperation to save his daughter’s life.

Ekweremadu was asked about an invoice for £8,000 from a doctor which he had received via his brother Diwe on 8 February 2022. In a whatsapp message, Diwe wrote, “It looks like they’re all out to exploit people’s unfortunate situation,” the court heard. The defendant told jurors his view was that he was being “scammed”. Defence barrister Martin Hicks KC asked: “Why not at this stage say we are being scammed Dr Obeta, end of, stop?” Mr Ekweremadu replied, “my daughter’s life was on the line so if we stop we will be putting my daughter’s life in danger. So we just keep moving. Everybody was obviously taking advantage of my daughter’s ill health.”

During cross-examination, Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said: “On the question of whether a family member could in principle act as a donor, you decided that was not possible based on a reported conversation between your non-nephrologist brother and Dr Obeta, a non-nephrologist?” The defendant said: “He would have had basic knowledge. I’m not a doctor so if he says so, I believe him.”

But Mr Davies said: “All you had to do, rather than rely on a second-hand account from non-nephrologists, was to ask one of the specialists you were consulting whether a family member could donate a kidney.” Ekweremadu suggested he had “limited intelligence”.

The prosecutor rejected the claim, saying: “It is incredible. You do not lack intelligence. The fact is you did not even try to ask Sonia’s cousins, for example, to consider acting as a donor. Far better to buy one and let the medical risk go to someone you don’t know.”

Beatrice Ekweremadu’s defence claimed she was unaware of her husband’s actions and had no handle on the family’s finances. The mother of four said her husband, Ike, took care of the household finances, according to the Nigerian custom.

The court was told that she had a PhD in accountancy, and worked in the Nigerian auditor general’s office. Beatrice Ekweremadu said that as a woman who had a powerful politician and lawyer for a husband, she didn’t doubt his actions. “My husband is a good man and I have come to trust him,” she said.

“He would have had basic knowledge. I’m not a doctor so if he says so, I believe him.”

Ike Ekweremadu on why he didn’t ask his brother and Obeta for a second opinion on whether a family donor was possible

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The fixers

Obeta, was described by the prosecution as Mr Ekweremadu’s “fixer” and ‘middleman’. The court heard how Obeta had successfully undergone a kidney transplant in the UK in 2021. A donor who was said to be his cousin travelled from Nigeria for the procedure, but was not in fact a relative. Evelyn Agbasonu, the Igbo interpreter who had been paid by the Ekweremadus to coach C had also acted as an interpreter for Obeta’s young Nigerian donor. 

Though Ms Agbasonu was not on trial, the prosecution described her as ‘corrupt’. Another name frequently mentioned during the trial was Dr. Christopher Agbo, a kidney consultant employed by North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and President of prominent charitable organisation MANSAG (one of the main bodies representing Nigerian health professionals in the UK).

Dr.Agbo also runs Vintage Health Group, a health tourism venture that brings overseas clients to the UK, mainly from Nigeria. Vintage Health Group was paid by the Ekwedmadus to facilitate the C’s visa application and his passage to Britain, and to liaise with the Royal Free. This was the third time Dr. Agbo had brought an overseas transplant patient to the Royal Free, a fact that emerged in an email exhibited in court, in which he asked for an ‘incentive’ for bringing business to the hospital. One of those times was for Obeta’s own transplant in 2021.

It is unknown whether Agbo knew these two cases were not from donors with family ties to the patients. Prosecutor Mr Davies told the court, “in terms of arranging for a Nigerian national to travel to the United Kingdom to donate a kidney, the role of the company is bound to attract suspicion.” Mr Davies added that ‘on the existing evidence, he and his company were not directly responsible for what was said on the various false declarations that were made to secure a visa for [the donor]. The UK General Medical Council says Dr Agbo is being permitted to continue working under a restrictive licence pending the outcome of their inquiry into the matter.

C described Obeta’s role in the case, “The first day that he called me all he told me was it was about work.”. “He asked me not to tell people that I’m coming to the UK,” C said. He revealed how during his stay, he had to sleep on Obeta’s sofa and was used as a houseboy, a different scenario from the one he imagined, and for which, he said, he was not paid.

Chief Crown Prosecutor Joanne Jakymec described the conspiracy as a “horrific plot”, saying the defendants showed “utter disregard for the victim’s welfare, health and wellbeing and used their considerable influence to a high degree of control throughout, with the victim having limited understanding of what was really going on here.”

The Ekweremadus’ daughter, Sonia, was cleared of the same charge after jurors deliberated for nearly 14 hours. Her barrister, John Femi-Ola KC, claimed she had been protected by her family from the conspiracy, and fallen ‘down the Alice In Wonderland hole’ after becoming ill. The jury appeared to accept this.

[the defendants showed] “utter disregard for the victim’s welfare, health and wellbeing and used their considerable influence to a high degree…”

Chief Crown Prosecutor Joanne Jakymec

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A landmark case and a brave victim

“This is a landmark conviction and we commend the victim for his bravery in speaking against these offenders.” said Detective Inspector Esther Richardson, from the Metropolitan Police’s Modern Slavery and Exploitation Command.

Detective Superintendent, Andy Furphy, who leads the team, said, “the abuse of power and wealth by these people over a vulnerable young man is astonishing. His bravery has given strength to others, and now this is not the only case of organ harvesting under investigation.”

In a statement given by C, he said he “can’t think about going home to Nigeria”, as “these people are extremely powerful and I worry for my safety”. It was reported that C didn’t apply for financial compensation from the Ekweremadu family to which he was entitled, telling a detective he “did not need or want anything from the bad people”. While It is not clear whether he will be able to remain in the UK, C’s lawyer confirmed that he is receiving ongoing support from a UK charity.

The case highlighted an important legal principle which made it irrelevant whether the trafficking victim knew he was coming to the UK to provide a kidney. Lynette Woodrow, deputy chief crown prosecutor and national modern slavery lead at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said, “With all trafficking offences, the consent of the person trafficked is no defence. The law is clear; you cannot consent to your own exploitation.”

In the wake of the case the Metropolitan Police and CPS have been working with hospitals across the UK and the Human Tissue Authority on how to improve inter-organisational cooperation when concerns about organ trafficking are raised and how to better identify and protect potential victims.

“The law is clear; you cannot consent to your own exploitation.”

Lynette Woodrow of the Crown Prosecution Service

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Sentencing – A very substantial fall from grace

Earlier in the week, leaders in Nigeria’s National Assembly had appealed to the London court for clemency, arguing that Ekweremadu was a first-time offender who had made valuable contributions to politics in West Africa. Ekweremadu did not stand for reelection in the February 2023 polls as he was considered a flight risk by UK authorities and held in custody before and during the trial.

During sentencing, the judge said to Ekweremadu, “You played a leading role in the offending. You did so in order to secure the material advantage, namely a human kidney for your daughter. I am sure that you were the driving force throughout.”

Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson also pointed out that Ekweremadu had been instrumental in passing the legislation in Nigeria in 2014 which prohibited the exchange of organs for money, “this legislation was specifically directed at protecting economically vulnerable people in Nigeria, from exploitation by those such as him with power and wealth.”

He said there was evidence Ike Ekweremadu owned as many as 40 properties around the world, and that £400,000 had entered his bank account over a six month period.

The judge added that, “your conviction represents a very substantial fall from grace.”

Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson said about Obeta that he had “deliberately targeted a victim who was particularly vulnerable, due to his young age, his isolation from his immediate family and his poverty.”

“your [Ike Ekweremadu’s] conviction represents a very substantial fall from grace.”

Justice Jeremy Johnson during sentencing

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Sonia: Life is just so dynamic

In an interview with BBC recorded shortly before sentencing on Friday, Sonia Ekweremadu said she felt guilty about the position her parents were in but did not appear remorseful about her family’s actions nor concerned about the impact on their victim, C.

“I don’t think it will ever be the same again. And obviously, I feel guilty because I feel like all this has happened because of me,” she said, while holding back tears. “[My parents] are quite calm, surprisingly. But I can’t really speak about what they are feeling. This is just from an outside perspective of me seeing them. They are okay, they are just neutral,” Sonia said.

Speaking further on the court judgement, she added, “It’s sad. It’s been really hard to wrap my head around it. I understand the conviction. Personally, I disagree with it; however, that’s from a very biased perspective as their daughter, and I would obviously back my parents. However, the law has taken its course, and we just have to now move forward as a family.”

When asked about what she would be doing next, Sonia said, “My main focus is to try to help, specifically people with kidney conditions. This is just to show them they don’t need to be scared. I will continue to support my parents and siblings as well.” 

On what she has learnt over the whole saga, Sonia said, “Life is just so dynamic. Like you’re one day in your house chilling and the next day your whole life is turned around, upside down.”

“Life is just so dynamic. Like you’re one day in your house chilling and the next day your whole life is turned around, upside down.”

Sonia Ekweremadu

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