Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, have been found guilty of “conspiracy to facilitate and arrange travel with the aim of exploitation” by an Old Bailey jury.
The verdict was delivered on Thursday, and the couple will be provisionally sentenced on May 5th.
Dr Obinna Obeta, the fourth defendant, was also found guilty. However, their daughter Sonia was found not guilty.
Despite this, she was visibly upset in court and sobbed uncontrollably upon hearing her parents’ convictions.
After the verdict, the family embraced for about a minute, and Sonia continued crying. The couple was later led out of the dock by security guards.
Family and friends rallied around them outside the court and urged them to “stay strong.”
The guilty verdicts were unexpected, and the family had been eagerly awaiting the trial’s end.
The jury delivered their verdict less than an hour after resuming deliberations on Thursday morning.
One of the security guards outside the four courtrooms on the second floor informed family members that there was a verdict in court 5.
The family was quickly ushered into the courtroom, and the verdict was delivered swiftly.
Ekweremadu and his wife were found guilty of facilitating and arranging travel with the aim of exploitation.
Despite their daughter’s acquittal, the family was emotional during the trial’s end, and Sonia was comforted by her mother and family members.
The couple will be sentenced on May 5th.
