UK shuts door on Nigeria’s request: Ekweremadu must finish jail term in Britain

By Johnson Arua

The United Kingdom has rejected a request by the Nigerian government to allow former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to complete his prison sentence in Nigeria.

Ekweremadu is currently serving a nine-year, eight-month sentence in a UK prison after he was convicted in 2023 for plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man.

The landmark conviction, which centred on an organ-trafficking scheme, drew international scrutiny and became one of the most high-profile criminal cases involving a Nigerian politician abroad.

A delegation from Nigeria, led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, recently met officials of the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to appeal for Ekweremadu’s transfer. The team reportedly sought his deportation so he could complete his remaining jail term back home.

However, according to The Guardian UK, an MoJ source confirmed that the request was turned down. British officials were said to have expressed concern that Nigeria could not provide credible guarantees that the former lawmaker would continue serving his sentence if returned.

One official was quoted as saying: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery, and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”

With the request denied, Ekweremadu will remain in the UK to finish his sentence. His wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu, who received a four-and-a-half-year term, was released earlier this year after serving half her sentence and has since returned to Nigeria.