Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu will stand trial in London today on charges of attempting to remove a young man’s kidney to give it to his ailing daughter.

The 60-year-old former Vice President of the Nigerian Senate is accused along with his wife, Beatrice Nwaneka Ekweremadu, 56, of transporting a 21-year-old to the UK to have his kidney removed and transplant their 25-year-old daughter Sonia.

Before the trial at the Old Bailey, Ekweremadu uttered only the phrase “Yes, ma’am” to confirm his identity. Sonya, who is also under investigation in the same case, was not present at the trial, as she is in the hospital for unknown reasons.

Her lawyers filed a psychiatric report stating that she could not stand trial and the hearing was adjourned.

The alleged victim, after undergoing a medical examination at a hospital in northwest London, refused to consent to the transplant and thwarted it, alerting the police.

The Ekuremando family was arrested at Heathrow Airport in June 2022. The senator was taken into custody, and his wife and daughter were released on parole. Charges were also filed against 50-year-old physician Obina Obeta.

The trial is expected to last seven weeks.

Ike Ekweremadu was first elected to the Senate in 2003.

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The case caused an uproar on social media and the Nigerian media.

“This case is unbelievable. Where else in the world can a (former) Vice President of the Senate, who is still a Senator, be in jail for 200 days (…) and still receive his salary?” commented activist Citizen Gbola of Take It Back, a human rights organization, “What’s going on; Why is his status not suspended? asked the activist who appeared in court.

RES-EMP source