Authorities in London have charged a Nigerian senator and his wife with plotting to bring a 15-year-old boy into the United Kingdom with the aim of harvesting his organs. According to BBC, 60-year-old Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, 55, were arraigned before a Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The couple were charged with conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, specifically organ harvesting, Al Jazeera reported. “The investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offenses under modern slavery legislation, in May 2022,” a statement from London police on Thursday said.
Police also said the 15-year-old boy is now in safe hands, and officials are working to offer him extra support.
Ekweremadu, who is also a barrister, once served as Nigeria’s deputy president of the Senate. He has held his senatorial position since 2003, and he’s a member of Nigeria’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He was also recently appointed as a visiting professor at the University of Lincoln, BBC reported.
The couple will remain in custody until their next court date. That is on July 7.
