The allegations of organ harvesting against former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, who are now being held in custody in the United Kingdom, have drawn further responses (UK).
The Ebonyi State government and former Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson have both expressed their opinions.
They requested that the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in London treat the pair as innocent unless proven guilty.
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The court had refused them bail on Thursday after the London Metropolitan Police had accused the defendants of violating the law against modern slavery.
Following a jurisdictional recommendation from the Attorney General, the court will hear their pleas on July 7.
The Ebonyi State government yesterday acknowledged in two different statements that David Nwamini Ukpo, the man at the center of the kidney donation controversy, was a state native.
The state administration also mentioned that it has contacted the Nwanmini family to arrange a discussion about the incident for tomorrow.
The comments were released by Uchenna Orji, the information commissioner, and Kenneth Ugbala, the secretary to the state government (SSG).
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According to Ugbala, the government had to intervene in the situation to explain the truth after noticing several falsehoods in social media.
The SSG added that based on an initial inquiry, David, who is from the Izzi Local Government Area, was residing in Ikotun, Lagos State, with his younger brother.
According to him, the government disagreed with the London Metropolitan Police’s claim that David is a minor.
He said: “From the records on David’s passport and testimony of Ebonyians in Lagos, preliminary investigation suggests that David is an adult who has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning himself.
“We request the family to come forward for a meeting with Ebonyi State government on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Abakaliki at the Government House to give us useful information to resolve this problem.
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“We believe that Senator Ike Ekweremadu has not been found guilty as the investigation is not yet concluded.”
In his statement, Orji said the government stood with the embattled senator “at this trial moment and hopes that the truth and nothing but the truth shall guide the outcome of the matter”.
He added: “The state government is reaching out to the family of David Okemini Ukpo from Ebonyi State, whose information to the Metropolitan Authority of UK orchestrated the criminal charge ‘incidented’ against the distinguished senator and his wife”.
Also, Dickson said he believed that Ekweremadu cannot traffic an underage child for the purpose of organ harvesting.
The former governor, who represents Bayelsa West in the Senate, said his thoughts and prayers were with the Ekweremadus.
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“I am sure from the beginning when this story broke that the Ekweremadu I know could not have taken an underage and underprivileged young man, smuggle him out to harvest organs for whatever purpose.
“As parents or even as human beings, we all can understand the emotions and the commitments shown by caring parents towards the recovery of their sick daughter,” Dickson added.
David stated in a Facebook post on Saturday that he had been tricked into traveling from Nigeria to London so that his kidney could be removed without his will.
Additionally, he stated that he had been offered a job, but when in London, he learned about organ harvesting from a doctor.
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