The United Kingdom has turned down a request by the Federal Government seeking the transfer of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to Nigeria to complete his prison term.
Ekweremadu is currently serving his sentence in a UK correctional facility after his 2023 conviction for conspiring to harvest the kidney of a young man—an offence that triggered global outrage and intense diplomatic scrutiny.
The former lawmaker was handed a jail term of nine years and eight months, marking one of the most consequential organ-trafficking cases ever prosecuted in the UK.
In a renewed diplomatic push, Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar recently led a federal delegation to the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ), where officials tabled Nigeria’s request for Ekweremadu’s deportation so he could serve the remainder of his sentence at home.
However, The Guardian UK reports that the MoJ has rejected the appeal. According to the newspaper, British authorities expressed reservations over Nigeria’s ability to ensure Ekweremadu continues his sentence upon return.
A source is reported to have said that: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
With the request now formally declined, Ekweremadu is expected to remain in the United Kingdom until his sentence expires.
His wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu—who was jailed for four years and six months with half of that term to be served in custody—was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.