Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi on Friday declared support for the former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu who was charged to court in London with alleged conspiracy to harvest the organs of a minor.
Ekweremadu has a daughter named Sonia who has been hospitalised and is in need of kidney transplant. Prosecutors believe Ekweremadu lied about the age of a male donor who was brought to London from Nigeria. They say he is 15 years old while Ekweremadu said the young man is 21.
Ekweremadu, 60, and accountant wife Beatrice, 55, were arrested on Tuesday, June 21 at the Heathrow Airport in London en route to Istanbul in Turkey.
The Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court heard that the couple was headed to Turkey where the procedure could take place.
Mr Obi, who was until May a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which Ekweremadu belongs to, prayed for healing for the lawmaker’s daughter. He was however silent on the alleged victim.
“My family and I are with the Ekweremadu’s over their travail. We join all men of goodwill in praying for the healing of their daughter and commit them into God’s hand for justice to be done,” said Obi.
Several other politicians have expressed support for Ekweremadu. Senator Dino Melaye tweeted that he stands with the embattled legislator. He also posted a letter Ekweremadu wrote to the British High Commission in Abuja for the visa application of the alleged minor identified as David Ukpo.
Meanwhile, prosecutors told the London court they found £20,000 on Ekweremadu at the point of his arrest.
It was not immediately clear if the lawmaker declared the amount he was carrying before his arrest. It is illegal to carry more than £10,000 without official declaration.
