The United Kingdom has declined a formal request from the Nigerian government seeking the transfer of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to Nigeria to complete his prison sentence.
Ekweremadu is currently serving time in a UK facility after he was convicted in 2023 for plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man—a conviction that stemmed from a high-profile international organ-trafficking case. The former lawmaker received a jail term of nine years and eight months.
Recently, the Nigerian government, led by Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar, met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to discuss Ekweremadu’s case and formally requested his deportation so he could serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria.
However, The Guardian UK reported that a source at the MoJ confirmed the request was rejected. The news platform indicated that the UK government harbored concerns that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported.
A source is reported to have underscored the UK’s firm stance against such crimes, saying that: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
With this development, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Meanwhile, his wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu, who was sentenced to four years and six months (with half spent in custody), was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.
