Organ Harvesting: Court directs NIMC To provide biodata of kidney donor in Ekweremadu’s case

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to provide the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the biodata of the controversial kidney donor for transmission to the United Kingdom as evidence in the allegations against Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, who are accused of organ harvesting.

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, however, 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.

Senator Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested by the London Metropolitan Police and subsequently prosecuted.