BREAKING] Organ harvesting: Obasanjo writes UK court, appeals for Ekweremadu

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has written to the United Kingdom court that convicted former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, guilty of organ trafficking.

In the letter written to the Chief Clerk, of the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London, the former President requested the Clerk to intercede and ensure the UK government balanced justice with compassion on the case.

It was claimed earlier on that Ekweremadu is in danger of being sentenced to 10 years in jail in compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of the United Kingdom after a London court convicted him and his wife guilty of organ trafficking.

After the guilty convictions by Mr Justice Johnson, Ekweremadu and his wife were remanded in jail and await sentence on May 5.

The Ekweremadus were detained and had been in the custody of UK police after they received reports from the young guy about their claimed intentions to harvest his organ.

Yet, Obasanjo, in his letter dated April 3, 2023, claimed the Ekweremadus had learned their lesson from the trauma, requesting the court and the UK government to grant leniency.

The letter read in part, “Mr Chief Clerk, I am very much aware of the current travails and conviction of Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the United Kingdom resulting from their being charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old from Nigeria to the UK to harvest organs for their daughter.

“I do know the repercussions of their behaviour and I dare say, it is unpleasant and condemnable and can’t be permitted in any sane or decent society.

“However, it is my fervent desire for very warm relations between the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Nigeria; for his position as one of the distinguished Senators in the Nigerian Parliament, and also for the sake of their daughter in question whose current health condition is in danger and requires urgent medical attention, you will use your good offices to intervene and appeal to the court and the government of the United Kingdom to be magnanimous enough to temper justice with mercy and let punishment that may have to come to take their good character and parental instinct and care into consideration.

“I do hope Mr and Mrs Ekweremadu have learnt from this distressing experience of theirs to guide\stheir future actions or inactions so they will continue to be outstanding members of their community and will continue to contribute fully to the good of the society in particular and the nation in general.”