https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/02/07/uk-prosecutors-accuse-ekweremadu-of-attempting-to-buy-kidney-for-7000/

Say he asked victim to lie he was cousin to his daughter.

A Nigerian senator and his wife plotted to bring a poor street trader to the UK to harvest his kidney for their daughter in exchange for up to £7,000 and the promise of a better life, a court has heard.

Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu, their 25-year-old daughter Sonia and medical “middleman” Dr. Obinna Obeta allegedly conspired to exploit the 21-year-old man for his body part, the court heard.

It is claimed Sonia Ekweremadu was to have been the recipient of his kidney in a transplant operation at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London.

As part of the alleged plot, “elaborate” steps were taken to create the false impression that Sonia and her proposed donor were cousins, it is claimed. His status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth since they had international connections, the court was told.

Opening their Old Bailey trial on Monday, Hugh Davies KC said Ekweremadu, 60, a senior senator in the Nigerian Parliament, and his 56-year-old wife were “significant figures” in Nigerian society.

“His status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth. They had international connections,” the prosecutor said.

“There are, however, certain things that money and status cannot guarantee in any family and they include good health,” the prosecutor added.

Sonia had a “significant and deteriorating” kidney condition which could be managed through dialysis but cured with a transplant, the court heard.

Davies told jurors: “Most parents, whether powerful or not in society, will do whatever is necessary to alleviate suffering in their child.

“The Ekweremadus were no different: the evidence – from downloads from their mobile phones, and wider actions – demonstrates a close, open and loving family each with an understandable and direct interest in Sonia’s medical treatment.”

Davies told jurors the case was not about their motivation but what the defendants were prepared to do to cure Sonia’s kidney condition.

While it was lawful for someone to donate a kidney, it is criminal to reward someone for doing so, jurors heard. To him – a street trader from Lagos – these sums and rewards were significant, The Independent and Reuters reported.

The donor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was allegedly recruited in Lagos, Nigeria. At the time he was making a few pounds a day selling telephone parts from a cart in public markets, the court heard.

Davies said other potential donors in Nigeria had been reviewed for suitability before he was identified.

And when the organ transplant did not go ahead in London, steps were taken to arrange a transplant operation in Turkey with a different donor, it was claimed.

When the street trader was found to be a suitable match, he was transported to London in February 2022, under the “direction and financial control” of the alleged plotters, Davies said.

As part of the deception, the young man was purported to be Sonia’s cousin, with the family connection used to get a temporary visa to travel to the UK, the court was told.

He was coached to give false answers to doctors at the Royal Free Hospital and Sonia was “singing from the same hymn sheet” to create a fake family history, Davies added.

The man appeared to have been offered a reward of up to 3.5 million naira (7,000 pounds or $8,439) along with a promise of work and the chance to be in Britain, the court heard.

Davies told jurors: “Relative to the wider medical costs of the process – measured in tens of thousands of pounds – which would have been done privately, his reward was to be a small fraction of the whole.

“To him – a street trader from Lagos – these sums and rewards were significant,” the prosecutor said.

Jurors were told the alleged donor did not understand until his first appointment with a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital that he was there for a kidney transplant.

He was said by the consultant to have “limited understanding” of what he was there for and was “visibly relieved” on being told the transplant would not go ahead, the court heard.

Davies noted: “More widely, the prosecution contends that (the donor) was subject to a high degree of control throughout and was dependent on what he was told for his understanding.”

The jury was told Sonia Ekweremadu has not had a kidney transplant and remains on dialysis.

The three Ekweremadus, from Willesden Green, north-west London, and Obeta, 50, from Southwark, denied conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of the young man with a view to exploitation between August 1, 2021 and May 5 2022.

“None of this would have been necessary if this was a straightforward, genuine, lawful, altruistic kidney donation,” Davies said. “It was not. The alleged conspirators knew it was not, what they agreed to was not. It was criminal,” he added.

Davies said according to the would-be donor’s account which the defence would, “doubtless dispute”, he did not grasp that he had been taken to London a year ago for a kidney transplant until his first screening appointment at the Royal Free Hospital.

The consultant who carried out the tests said the man had a limited understanding of why he was there and was visibly relieved when told the transplant would not proceed, according to Davies.

Davies said there was an “obvious risk that those providing organs for transplantation for reward are likely to come from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society.”

The defendants have been charged under modern slavery legislation which makes it an offence to “arrange or facilitate the travel” of a person to the UK for exploitation.

This offence carries a higher potential sentence of life, compared to a maximum of three years for illegally making an organ donation.

He was from a remote village and did not know his exact age, so he “adopted” a date of birth which would make him around 22 now, jurors were told.

The court heard he was given medical tests in Nigeria to assess his suitability as a donor before being flown to the UK.

Ekeremadu is cooked, imho
it now remains whether he will end up as a guest of his mjestys prison or they ship him to naija
and if sophia testifies she may be implicated in this conspiracy too. she is an adult so there is no wiggle room

GloriousGbola:


the tucano jets that are yet to rout boko haram.

one would have thought the moment we took delivery of those jets, lights out for BH and their camps

But.... But...They told us those military hardware have turned the tide of the battle against insurgency

BlueRayDick:


But.... But...They told us those military hardware have turned the tide of the battle against insurgency

i have no faith in our air force jare. all they do is regularly crash planes and helicopters
a fking lootocracy

and of course it is another indictment of buhari.

this is the TRUE meaning of project failure - when the asset is procured or installed or deployed, and does not yield the expected result

GloriousGbola:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/02/07/uk-prosecutors-accuse-ekweremadu-of-attempting-to-buy-kidney-for-7000/




Ekeremadu is cooked, imho
it now remains whether he will end up as a guest of his mjestys prison or they ship him to naija
and if sophia testifies she may be implicated in this conspiracy too. she is an adult so there is no wiggle room

Ekweremadu is done for! He will most likely end up in UK jail just like Ibori.

Tataffo:


Did this poll and prediction model get it right in the last 3 elections?

The company was just two years old as at the last election cycle, this is their first poll.

The Structures are full of "praise" for the Developer of Lagos

https://twitter.com/iObidient/status/1622556827987726337?t=fviAbbA0e5ChhvZxXESsFQ&s=19

Theflint1:
The company was just two years old as at the last election cycle, this is their first poll.

Ohhh ok,That last line with full disclaimer is playing out already.....

People protesting to get their pvc thanks to inec incompetence

University students are already disenfranchised thanks to the ASUU strike

If this rubbish CBN policy lingers on,there will be a lot of disinterest,voter apathy and people like nostradamus1 having reasons to sell their votes for cash

Then there is the usual election violence that scares people off...

DissTroy:


Check this DigiTech product out on ProductHunt:

https://www.producthunt.com/products/superflow-webflow-plugin-for-revisions#superflow-rewrite-powered-by-chatgpt

https://www.producthunt.com/products/superflow-webflow-plugin-for-revisions

It integrates WebFlow and ChatGPT to do web content copywriting in seconds.

The second is a virtual assistant which can be finetuned by the tech service provider. Gaining traction on the platform.

The tool looks exciting. Have you tried it to know its effectiveness because similar tools like WordAI don't work satisfactorily?

Evidently, AI will revolutionize all sectors and spheres of human life.

BlueRayDick:


Dem no allow us rest on top the railway

Please do you have a link to the approved budget for 2023?

Cc:
Anyone please

izzou:
But talking about Lagos

Why isn't Jakande eulogised like Tinubu?

I grew up reading about his inputs in the development of Lagos, but nobody talks about him like that.

different generation

it is our parents who would have witnessed and experienced the development under his admin. hey are the ones who would have been able to measure the a to d or a to i growth.

also - jakande is not running for president

izzou:
But talking about Lagos

Why isn't Jakande eulogised like Tinubu?

I grew up reading about his inputs in the development of Lagos, but nobody talks about him like that.

It is just because of the passage of time. It was a long time ago and he was governor for only 4 years. Plus he didn’t build a power base like Tinubu.

Lagosians of a certain age give Jakande his due respect.

Just did a brief scan of the poll according to them Atiku is doing really badly likely not to win seems it's between Obi and Tinubu. Like other polls Obi is predicted to win let's see 25th is not far again God keeping us alive.

raumdeuter:


The currency and fuel crisis is pushing Atiku ahead and giving him the edge

So its still close between Atiku and Tinubu for 1st and 2nd

GloriousGbola:


different generation

it is our parents who would have witnessed and experienced the development under his admin. hey are the ones who would have been able to measure the a to d or a to i growth.

also - jakande is not running for president

Exactly. Different generation and a long time ago.
My parents always rated him No 1.

GloriousGbola:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/02/07/uk-prosecutors-accuse-ekweremadu-of-attempting-to-buy-kidney-for-7000/




Ekeremadu is cooked, imho
it now remains whether he will end up as a guest of his mjestys prison or they ship him to naija
and if sophia testifies she may be implicated in this conspiracy too. she is an adult so there is no wiggle room

They should not ship him to 9ja.

Papa Jakande is well respected but after his tenure he wasn't really deeply involved in anything political like that unlike late Alex Ekwueme who was always a major political voice until his death.

His involvement in the Abacha government could have also stained his white abit but he's respected nonetheless.

izzou:
But talking about Lagos

Why isn't Jakande eulogised like Tinubu?

I grew up reading about his inputs in the development of Lagos, but nobody talks about him like that.

izzou:
But talking about Lagos

Why isn't Jakande eulogised like Tinubu?

I grew up reading about his inputs in the development of Lagos, but nobody talks about him like that.

It's simply because social media was not available that time.

Jakande built low cut housing estate in 16 different locations in Lagos state within 4 years he ruled. When I mean Low cost housing estate, I mean low cost housing estates.

My old man as a 32 year old man was able to take mortgage on and own one 3-bedroom flat in one of the estates.

Jakande built the Lagos state secretariat at Alausa, he established Lagos state University, he constructed the lekki-epe expressway, he built hundreds of schools, all of which he did in 4 years.

If anybody manages to achieve half of what that man did in 4years within 8 years in this modern day Era, media no go allow us hear any word again.

His misadventure with the Abacha regime also affected his reputation

If we're talking strictly Borno, Yobe and Adamawa things have improved at least from pre-2015 levels but that doesn't mean things are A okay now. There's still work to be done but it's no longer looking like ISIS infested Syria.

Northwest however is nothing to right home about same for parts of North Central

BlueRayDick:


But.... But...They told us those military hardware have turned the tide of the battle against insurgency

Yes he did very well but don't forget to factor into the equation that during his time Nigeria was rolling in money from oil sales, stable currency, low population and support from the FG then who built a lot of infrastructure in Lagos then from Gowon to Shagari.

BlueRayDick:


It's simply because social media was not available that time.

Jakande built low cut housing estate in 16 different locations in Lagos state within 4 years he ruled. When I mean Low cost housing estate, I mean low cost housing estates.

My old man as a 32 year old man was able to take mortgage on and own one 3-bedroom flat in one of the estates.

Jakande built the Lagos state secretariat at Alausa, he established Lagos state University, he constructed the lekki-epe expressway, he built hundreds of schools, all of which he did in 4 years.

If anybody manages to achieve half of what that man did in 4years within 8 years in this modern day Era, media no go allow us hear any word again.

His misadventure with the Abacha regime also affected his reputation

chrisooblog:
Yes he did very well but don't forget to factor into the equation that during his time Nigeria was rolling in money from oil sales, stable currency, low population and support from the FG then who built a lot of infrastructure in Lagos then from Gowon to Shagari.

All these stories after "he did well" are just APC's people way of downplaying his performance.

If u want to be considering all those things u mentioned then u should also consider how modern Lagos state makes "bastard money" as IGR and juxtapose it with the development on ground

chrisooblog:
Yes he did very well but don't forget to factor into the equation that during his time Nigeria was rolling in money from oil sales, stable currency, low population and support from the FG then who built a lot of infrastructure in Lagos then from Gowon to Shagari.

Not 100% true. By 1981 oil prices had fallen and the oil boom had ended. Half of Jakande’s tenure was actually in the midst of a national economic crisis.

The most detailed and eye catching forecast so far


https://www.nairaland.com/7558211/stears-poll-predicts-nigerias-next

Segedinho:
The most detailed and eye catching forecast so far


https://www.nairaland.com/7558211/stears-poll-predicts-nigerias-next

You beat me to it. I wanted to post it too.

wman:



You beat me to it. I wanted to post it too.

The most interesting part of the model was the silent voters.


I think "it" nailed it and in all honesty the amount of voters that are ashamed to say APC/Tinubu due to backlashes as well as no defence whatsoever to support their preferred candidates made it (d model) a better one.

Convert that 'bastard money' to dollars and compare it to how much Jakande had to play with when Naira was more valuable than dollar with lesser population to boot. Jakande did very well but it would help to also factor how many problems he had to deal with compared to the present.

BlueRayDick:


All these stories after "he did well" are just APC's people way of downplaying his performance.

If u want to be considering all those things u mentioned then u should also consider how modern Lagos state makes "bastard money" as IGR and juxtapose it with the development on ground

GloriousGbola:
At this point Buhari should just port. He has fked up the election for his party, quite possibly irredeemably.

There may be a huge protest /punishment vote BlueRayDick style. And it will have been earned.

Fuc-k this man.

Buhari can’t build nothing. That man only knows destruction. You can’t give what you don’t have.

Tinubu’s biggest enemy is not Obi or Atiku—it’s the steaming pile of shït Buhari left which his party must assume responsibility for.

Yes oil prices fell but currency was still stable, population not out of control, basic services still functioning reasonably.

What I'm saying in short is that Baba Kekere was dealt a good hand and didn't have many reasons not to do well.

Unlike today's contemporary governor who apart from dwindling revenue has to deal with crippling debt, decrepit infrastructure, high population, devalued currency and that's just on a regular day. Look at Soludo for instance he's learning the hard way that theory and governance are two entirely different things.

afrodoc2:



Not 100% true. By 1981 oil prices had fallen and the oil boom had ended. Half of Jakande’s tenure was actually in the midst of a national economic crisis.

chrisooblog:
Yes oil prices fell but currency was still stable, population not out of control, basic services still functioning reasonably.

What I'm saying in short is that Baba Kekere was dealt a good hand and didn't have many reasons not to do well.

Unlike today's contemporary governor who apart from dwindling revenue has to deal with crippling debt, decrepit infrastructure, high population, devalued currency and that's just on a regular day. Look at Soludo for instance he's learning the hard way that theory and governance are two entirely different things.

No definitely things are more difficult now. The rot is very deep. Like in most cases prevention is better than cure. Things are so bad now, which is why I personally have no hopes that the country has any real future.

raumdeuter:


How much it generates depend on the power of the batteries and inverter

I did for my folks and I think it was over 2M I cant remember the details but they needed some solar panel, batteries, inverter.

They have electricity 24-7 but for security reasons don't turn on their surround lights cos its risky for your house to have visible lights when your neighbors don't

To live a good life in Nigeria now is very risky. You own a Car in a neighbourhood that has more poor people than rich, them go use envy kill you and your family. Jobless Boys for area will not let you rest too....

TrebleChamp:
To live a good life in Nigeria now is very risky. You own a Car in a neighbourhood that has more poor people than rich, them go use envy kill you and your family. Jobless Boys for area will not let you rest too....

Only jobless boys? What about the police? My mum was coming home from church one day when the car was stopped by the police at the estate gate. The policemen were asking her that how come she was unknown to them with her fine car, that someone like her should be known to them and sorting them, because one day she might need their help.

chrisooblog:
Yes oil prices fell but currency was still stable, population not out of control, basic services still functioning reasonably.

What I'm saying in short is that Baba Kekere was dealt a good hand and didn't have many reasons not to do well.

Unlike today's contemporary governor who apart from dwindling revenue has to deal with crippling debt, decrepit infrastructure, high population, devalued currency and that's just on a regular day. Look at Soludo for instance he's learning the hard way that theory and governance are two entirely different things.

Nope Baba Jakande was not a self centered thief or wasteful idiot like our current crop of politicians or governors.

Baba choose to put lagos before self, these lots are putting self before state - thats the key difference.

Imagine how further improved lagos or any other state would be without billions being siphoned or wasted.

chrisooblog:
Just did a brief scan of the poll according to them Atiku is doing really badly likely not to win seems it's between Obi and Tinubu. Like other polls Obi is predicted to win let's see 25th is not far again God keeping us alive.

Those polls are jokes

There's a reason why those who post those polls are not confident enough to make a bet based on those polls projection