UK Turns Down Nigeria’s Bid to Have Senator Ekweremadu Serve His Jail Term at Home
STORY: written by Myra November 25,2025
The United Kingdom has refused Nigeria’s appeal to have former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, transferred back home to complete his prison sentence.
With this decision, Ekweremadu will remain behind bars in the UK, ending any hopes of an immediate return to Nigeria to serve the rest of his term.
Ekweremadu is currently serving nine years and eight months after being convicted in 2023 for plotting to traffic a young man for a kidney transplant — a case that drew global attention and exposed a criminal organ-harvesting network.
A Nigerian delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, visited the UK’s Ministry of Justice last week to push for his repatriation. However, officials rejected the request, reportedly due to concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee Ekweremadu would continue his sentence once transferred.
A Ministry of Justice insider confirmed the denial, while a government spokesperson said they do not comment on individual inmate cases but stressed that prisoner transfers depend on whether they align with justice and legal standards.
Another UK official remarked: “The UK does not tolerate modern slavery, and offenders will face the full weight of the law.”
Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, who received a four-and-a-half-year sentence, was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.
During sentencing, Justice Jeremy Johnson described the trio’s roles in the scheme as part of a “despicable trade,” calling organ harvesting a form of slavery where human bodies are treated as items for sale.
He labelled Ekweremadu the “mastermind” behind the plot, noting that his conviction marked a “dramatic fall from grace.”
The trial also revealed weaknesses in the UK healthcare system that made it vulnerable to organ-trafficking attempts.
Back in February 2022, the young victim was taken to a private renal clinic at the Royal Free Hospital in London, where he was falsely presented as Sonia Ekweremadu’s cousin who had willingly agreed to an £80,000 transplant.
