By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Nigeria’s former deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu has been sentenced to jail for plotting to harvest a man’s kidney for his sick daughter.
At a sentencing hearing on Friday, Ekweremadu was jailed for nine years and eight months.
His wife Beatrice was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment, while a doctor, Obinna Obeta received a 10-year prison term.
The sentencing follows their conviction in March at London’s Old Bailey for organ trafficking.
The Ekweremadus’ daughter Sonia, 25, shed tears as she was cleared of the same charge after jurors deliberated for nearly 14 hours.
The three were found guilty after facilitating a young Nigerian man’s travel into the United Kingdom in a bid to obtain his kidney on behalf of Sonia.
The jury said Ekweremadu, his wife and their doctor criminally conspired to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to exploit him for his kidney.
The verdict is considered the first of its kind under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
