If convicted of organ trafficking, Ekweremadu and his wife could spend a long time in prison

The Specialist Crime Team of the Metropolitan Police in London has arrested Ike Ekweremadu, a former Vice President of the Senate, and his wife, Beatrice.

They were arrested for allegedly plotting to take organs from a child, who is now in protective custody.

Under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of the United Kingdom, if the couple is found guilty, they could get up to 12 months in prison, a fine, or both.

"A person guilty of an offense under Sections 1 or 2 is liable (a)on indictment, to life in prison; (b)on summary conviction, to no more than 12 months in prison, a fine, or both."

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said, "A woman and a man were charged today (Thursday) with plotting to bring a child into the UK so that organs could be taken from it.

"The charges come after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime team.

"[A] Nigerian woman named Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, who is 55 years old and was born on September 10, 1966, is charged with conspiring to help another person travel for the purpose of exploitation, namely organ harvesting.

"[B] Ike Ekweremadu, 60, of Nigeria, was born on May 5, 1962. He is charged with conspiring to set up or facilitate the travel of another person for the purpose of exploitation, namely organ harvesting."

The investigation was started after detectives were told in May 2022 that possible violations of modern slavery laws might have happened.

The PUNCH heard that the senator's daughter needed an organ transplant.

One source said, "One of his children needs an organ transplant. Probably, the arrangement was not in line with British laws."

Our reporters heard that Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested on Tuesday at London's Heathrow Airport as they were going to Istanbul, Turkey.

They were brought before a UK Magistrate court on Thursday.

According to the court proceedings, as reported by Arise TV and seen by one of our reporters, Ekweremadu and Beatrice showed up at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court.

The station said, "The alleged victim in this case is a homeless 15-year-old boy who was brought to the UK by Mr. and Mrs. Ekweremadu from the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.

"They are both charged with conspiring to set up or help someone else travel for the purpose of exploitation, namely organ harvesting.

"They planned to bring a child from Nigeria, a 15-year-old boy, so that his organs could be taken. The boy was promised a better life. The prosecutors told the court that the former Deputy Senate President got a passport for the boy that said he was 21 years old, but it turned out that the boy was only 15 years old.

"The court found out that Ekweremadu's daughter had been dealing with kidney failure and had been on dialysis for a while and needed a kidney transplant. So, the boy was brought in to donate one of his kidneys to the daughter."