The wife of former Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Beatrice Ekweremadu, has been released from a UK prison. Reports indicate that she returned home on Tuesday to a warm welcome, with family and friends offering prayers for her husband’s safe return.
Beatrice and her husband were convicted in May 2023 on charges related to organ harvesting and trafficking.
The couple had attempted to purchase a kidney from a young Nigerian boy to be transplanted into their daughter, Sophia. Beatrice, Ike, and Dr. Obinna Obeta, a medical doctor involved in the case, were sentenced for their roles in the organ trafficking scheme. Ike received a 10-year sentence, while Beatrice was sentenced to six years, despite her claims of poor health in court.
The Ekweremadus’ conviction marked the first under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The sentencing followed appeals from several prominent figures and organizations, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), both chambers of Nigeria’s National Assembly, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), and the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC).
