Ekweremadu, wife nabbed in UK for alleged organ harvesting

A Nigerian couple, Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55, have been arrested and charged by the Metropolitan Police in the UK for allegedly conspiring to arrange to bring a child to the country to harvest organs.

According to the Met Police in a statement, the couple will appear at the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after they were formally charged with “conspiracy to facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.”

Ike Ekweremadu is a former deputy Senate President of the National Assembly whose wife also bears the first name Nwanneka. There is no confirmation yet as at the time of this report if the names are a coincidence, or if it was the former deputy Senate President and wife that were arrested.

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The arrested Ekweremadus were taken into custody after an investigation by the Met force’s specialist crime team which was alerted in May to potential offences under modern slavery legislation.

“Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55 (10.9.66) of Nigeria is charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting,” the Met Police statement reads.

“Ike Ekweremadu, 60 (12.05.62) of Nigeria is charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.

“They have both been remanded in custody and will appear at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court later today. A child has been safeguarded and we are working closely with partners on continued support.

“As criminal proceedings are now under way we will not be providing further details,” the statement added.