Organ Harvesting: How court order on NIMC’s data forced kidney donor to confess real age in U.K. court  

An order of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, directing the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to provide the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata of the controversial kidney donor, Ukpo David Nwamini,  for transmission to the United Kingdom (U.K.) court as evidence in the allegations against Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, may have forced Ukpo to confess and admit his real age of 21 years against the earlier claim of 15 years upon which he was declared a minor. The judgment of the court ordering NIMC to release the data of Ukpo would help to expose the authentic records of the kidney donor, revealing the lies presented to the British Metropolitan Police. Ukpo owned up and confessed before the court at the Thursday resumed proceedings, admitting he is 21 years.

The British Metropolitan Police are prosecuting Ekweremadu and the wife, Beatrice, on allegations of organ harvesting and trafficking.

Counsel to Ekweremadu, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, had approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided by Justice Inyang Ekwo, seeking an order for the release of official documents of Ukpo in the possession of the NIMC, Nigerian Immigration Service and Stanbic-IBTC Bank as evidence in defending Ekweremadu in the UK.

Justice Inyang Ekwo at the resumed sitting on Wednesday, granted the relief being sought.

Counsel to NIMC, Muazu Mohammed, had explained to the court that the Commission’s rules do not permit it to release BioData of an individual, to a private citizen. The counsel told the court that based on the NIMC law, such information should be first handed over to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

Awomolo agreed with the submission of Mohammed, acknowledging that the AGF has a diplomatic channel of communication with the UK authorities.

Justice Ekwo, thereafter, ordered NIMC to provide the BioData of the donor in possession of the Commission to the AGF for onward transmission to the relevant courts in the United Kingdom.

At the resumed sitting of the Westminster Magistrates Court, on Thursday, the kidney donor, Ukpo David Nwamini, admitted that he is 21 years old and not 15 years as earlier claimed. The confession and acknowledgement of the real age by the court, cleared one of the charges and false claim against the Ekweremadu and the wife that the donor is a minor.