The Nigerian Senate has responded to the UK arrest and detention of former deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, just 24 hours after it was alerted.
The Senate decided to visit the couple in London by sending a delegation from its foreign affairs committee.
In two days, the delegation will fly to the UK.
The British High Commission is to be contacted by the Senate’s foreign affairs committee in order to “find out additional information on the case as far as the Commission is concerned.”
This was announced by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday at the conclusion of a meeting behind closed doors.
The MPs were informed about Mr. Ekweremadu’s detention in London, Mr. Lawan said at the conclusion of the executive session, which lasted about an hour.
“Who has done so well to establish communication with Mr. Ekweremadu – who has been able to get his team to be in the court in Uxbridge where he was transported to,” he claimed, referring to the Nigerian High Commissioner to Britain.
According to him, the High Commission has been able to offer some consular services, such as hiring attorneys to represent the Enugu senator.
The Senate President added that because the “matter is currently in court,” they “have limited chances to do anything more than what has already been done.”
He promised Mr. Ekweremadu’s family that more would be done, but he also stated that a delegation would be sent to meet with the couple.
“A group will travel to London to meet with Senator Ekweremadu and his wife.
In two days, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee group will depart.
“We implore all institutions that have the power to act to make sure they do, especially the ministry of foreign affairs.
We can ask for more from the Nigerian High Commission, but they have already made us proud, he added.
The London Metropolitan Police detained the couple last week.
They were accused of trafficking David Nwanini with the intention of removing his kidney.
According to the charges, Mr. Ekweremadu and his wife moved a 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK under the pretense that they would provide him a better life there but in reality, they wanted to use the boy’s organs to treat their daughter’s renal illness.
The prosecution reportedly told the court that Mr. Ekweremadu obtained a passport for the child and said he was 21 years old only to learn that he was 15 years old. They were prosecuted at the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in London and were granted bail.
Contrary to what the London prosecutors said, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) stated that David Nwamini, the suspected victim of organ harvesting, was 21 years old.
At yesterday’s plenary, many Nigerians criticized the Senate for being silent on the subject
Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister of foreign affairs, and Aliyu Aziz, the director-general of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), were invited by the House of Representatives to appear and address the relevant committees of the House regarding Mr. Ekweremadu’s ongoing trial in London.
Also invited was Idris Jere, Director-General of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS).
According to the 2015 Modern Slavery Act of the United Kingdom, the Ekweremadus could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison, 12 months in jail, a fine, or both upon summary conviction.
“A person guilty of an offence under Section 1 or 2 is punishable, upon conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life; upon conviction on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 12 months or a fine or both,” the law stated.
