President Bola Tinubu has begun negotiations with the government of the United Kingdom, seeking an early release for Ike Ekweremadu, former Nigerian deputy Senate President, from the UK prison.
Ekweremadu is currently serving a jail sentence imposed by the Oxford Crown Court in Britain for his involvement in organ harvesting/trafficking.
The UK Court sentenced him to nine years and eight months in prison on May 5, 2023, for an organ trafficking offence, alongside his wife, Beatrice, who also bagged four years and six months for her role in the kidney trafficking saga.
Beatrice Ekweremadu was, however, released in January this year after serving less than two years.
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Ekweremadu was jailed specifically for conspiring to bring a young Nigerian man to the UK to harvest his kidney for their daughter, Sonia.
President Tinubu, who is said to be eager to see an early freedom for the politician, dispatched a high-level delegation that met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice to discuss the case of Ekweremadu.
Members of the delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as other top officials from the two ministries.
BusinessDay gathered that the delegation was received by Mohammed Maidugu, the Acting High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, on the arrival of the team, on Monday
They are expected to continue the meeting with the British Justice Ministry officials from Tuesday as part of plans for Ekweremadu’s early release.
