Ike Ekweremadu, the Nigerian senator who was arrested in London last month for an alleged ‘organ harvesting’ plot will be appearing in Westminster Magistrate Court today.
Senator Ekweremadu, aged 60, and his wife Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, aged 55, will be facing charges of an alleged conspiracy to transport a Nigerian child to the UK to harvest his organs. Police have disclosed that the offense was categorized under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Both couples have been arraigned at the Met police cell since appearing in court on June 23.
Today’s court hearing will make it the third time the Ekweremadu’s would be making a court appearance in the UK. He is however yet to take a plea. Today’s court hearing will determine the next step of the case, to know if the couple’s trial will be happening in their home country of Nigeria. The pair were arrested in June after an investigation by the UK Metropolitan Police Specialist -Met team.
Met Police had previously released a statement where the Ekweremadu’s charges read:
“Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55 (born 10th September 1966) of Nigeria was charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another individual with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
Ike Ekweremadu, 60 (born 12th May 1962) of Nigeria was charged with conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another individual with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting,”.