Organ Harvesting Trial: Why Ekweremadu sought kidney donors outside his family

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who previously held the position of Deputy Senate President, maintains that his doctor advised him not to pursue a kidney donor from within his family.

Ekweremadu disclosed this to a court in London on Thursday, March 09, 2023, during cross-examination in an organ harvesting and trafficking criminal trial.

Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said: “On the question of whether a family member could, in principle, act as a donor, you decided that wasn’t possible based on a reported conversation between your non-nephrologist brother and Dr [Obinna] Obeta, a non-nephrologist?”

Ekweremadu responded: “He would’ve had basic knowledge. I am not a doctor, so if he says so, I believe him.”

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, insisted that he had “limited intelligence,” a claim that was not accepted by the prosecutor, who said, “It’s incredible. You do not lack intelligence.”

Davies then added, “The fact is you didn’t even try to ask Sonia’s cousins, for example, to consider acting as a donor.

“What you’re saying is you had no intention of anyone in your family – immediate or extended – stepping up to donate a kidney to Sonia.

“Far better to buy one and let the medical risk go to someone you don’t know.”

In response, Ekweremadu said it ‘wasn’t true’, adding that he agreed to acquire a donor by going through agents for the task.

What happened: It is worth noting that the aforementioned lawmaker, along with his spouse, Beatrice, have been accused of charges in the United Kingdom (UK) on the grounds of purportedly enticing a young man from Nigeria to donate his organ for their ailing daughter, Sonia, who is also currently being tried in the same case.