The Federal Government has initiated moves to secure the transfer of former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom for organ harvesting.
A high-level Nigerian delegation was dispatched to the UK on Monday to engage British authorities over the matter.
The delegation, which held talks with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice in London earlier on Monday, comprised Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
Later, the team was received at the Nigerian High Commission in London by Ambassador Mohammed Maidugu, the Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
According to credible sources, the discussions are part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to secure either Ekweremadu’s early release or a review of his sentence on humanitarian and legal grounds.
Officials familiar with the talks said the Nigerian government is exploring options such as a possible prisoner-transfer arrangement, compassionate parole, or other reliefs available under UK law.
“We are working on an appeal for a prisoner exchange for him to serve the remainder of his term in Nigeria,” a top official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confided in Daily Trust.
“Consultations are still ongoing with the UK authorities,” the source added.
Ekweremadu, a veteran lawmaker and three-time Deputy President of the Senate, was convicted by the Old Bailey in March 2023 alongside his wife, Beatrice, and a medical doctor, Obinna Obeta.
They were found guilty of conspiring to exploit a young Nigerian man, David Nwamini, for the removal of his kidney to treat Ekweremadu’s ailing daughter.