Old Bailey trial told Nigerian politician flew man to UK to harvest organ because he didn’t want relative to face transplant risk
A senior Nigerian politician tried to bring a street trader to the UK to harvest his kidney because it was “far better to buy one” than find a family member to donate the organ, a court has heard.
Prosecutor Hugh Davies KC has accused Ike Ekweremadu, an opposition senator in Nigeria who has an address in London, of not approaching family members because he wanted the “medical risk” to go to someone he didn’t know.
Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, daughter Sonia, 25, and medical “middleman” Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, are on trial at the Old Bailey over an alleged plot to bring a young man to Britain to donate his kidney.
Prosecutors have claimed the 21-year-old street trader from Lagos, Nigeria, was offered up to £7,000 and the promise of a better life if he made the journey to London, posing as Sonia’s cousin to obtain a visa for the UK.
The man’s kidney would then have been removed at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, before being transplanted into Sonia, who has a “significant and deteriorating” kidney condition, prosecutors allege.
Sonia Ekweremadu outside the Old Bailey in February
The alleged donor did not understand until his first appointment with a consultant at the hospital that he was there for a kidney transplant, jurors have been told at a previous hearing.
When he was rejected as unsuitable, it is alleged the Ekweremadus transferred their interest to Turkey and set about finding another donor.
The street trader was said by the consultant to have a “limited understanding” of what he was there for and was “visibly relieved” on being told the transplant would not go ahead, the court heard.
‘You do not lack intelligence’
Ekweremadu was asked under cross-examination today why he didn’t try to find a suitable match among his family members instead of trying to buy a kidney.
The politician said he believed it was not an option after being told about a conversation between his brother Diwe and Dr Obeta in September 2021.
Prosecutor Mr Davies said: “On the question of whether a family member could in principle act as a donor, you decided that was not possible based on a reported conversation between your non-nephrologist brother and Dr Obeta, a non-nephrologist?”
The defendant said: “He would have had basic knowledge. I’m not a doctor so if he says so, I believe him.”
But Mr Davies said: “All you had to do, rather than rely on a second-hand account from non-nephrologists, was to ask one of the specialists you were consulting whether a family member could donate a kidney.”
Ekweremadu suggested he had “limited intelligence”.
The prosecutor rejected the claim, saying: “It is incredible. You do not lack intelligence.
“The fact is you did not even try to ask Sonia’s cousins, for example, to consider acting as a donor.
“What you are saying is you had no intention of anyone in your family – immediate or extended – stepping up to donate a kidney to Sonia.
“Far better to buy one and let the medical risk go to someone you don’t know.”
‘These are not the facts’
Ekweremadu said it was “not true” that he agreed through agents to recruit a donor to give a kidney to his daughter for a reward.
Mr Davies said: “The pattern of communication reflects none of the type of human communication and contact you would expect if you and your family had believed that [the proposed donor] was a good Samaritan.”
Ekweremadu repeated: “Not true.”
But Mr Davies asserted: “The transplant with [the donor] not having gone ahead, you and your family then immediately sought to recruit further donors for reward, transferring jurisdiction out of the UK to Turkey.
“That failed too because even that donor had not been trained properly to give the false answers when interviewed.”
The defendant replied: “These are not the facts.”
Mr Davies said: “You did not move away from the Royal Free clinical team because they lacked expertise.
“When another donor was required you immediately sought to transfer the clinical process to Turkey.”
Mr Davies queried why the Ekweremadus had been prepared to leave an “internationally recognised centre of excellence” in London for an unknown quantity in Turkey.
Ekweremadu suggested treatment in Turkey was “cheaper”.
Read more from court:
Hospital secretary ‘helped in failed bid to harvest kidney’
Mr Davies responded: “You were looking to cut corners on your daughter’s clinical outcome to save money? You were a wealthy man, senator.”
The defendant, who owns dozens of properties in Nigeria and Dubai and sent his children to be privately educated, denied being a wealthy man.
But Mr Davies said: “That’s not true. Think of the number of properties you own.”
He went on to suggest that Beatrice Ekweremadu, who has a doctorate, maintained an informed interest in what was going on “from beginning to end”.
Beatrice Ekweremadu in February
The prosecutor said: “How would Sonia’s treatment not be the dominant discussion in the family? What was more important?”
Ekweremadu replied: “I have other responsibilities to my family and other people.”
Mr Davies said: “What other issue had anything like the level of importance over your daughter’s potentially life-limiting, life-ending condition?”
The three Ekweremadus, who have an address in Willesden Green, northwest London, and Dr Obeta, from Southwark, deny conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of the young man with a view to exploitation between August 2021 and May last year.
The trial continues.
World
Ukraine war: Putin rejects peace deal after meeting Trump’s team – and telling Europe he’s ready for war
Talks between US negotiators and Vladimir Putin about Ukraine were “productive” but there was no breakthrough, according to Russian officials.
Donald Trump sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to Tuesday’s summit in Moscow.
They were pictured in Red Square prior to the summit and Mr Witkoff later told a smiling Mr Putin that Moscow was a “magnificent city”.
Shortly before the summit, the Russian president warned his country was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.
Analysis: Why Putin won’t agree to latest peace plan
Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev were involved in the talks, which lasted over five fours and ended after midnight.
Both sides agreed not to disclose precise details, but in a one-word social media post, Mr Dmitriev described the meeting as “productive”.
Mr Ushakov called it “rather useful, constructive” and asked whether peace was closer or further, he commented: “Not further, that’s for sure”.
However, he said a compromise hadn’t been reached on the issue of territories and that the Kremlin sees “no resolution to the crisis” without one.
Russia wants the whole of the Donbas region – even the parts it does not hold – but Ukraine has balked at the prospect.
Mr Ushakov said there was “still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow” and that “contacts will continue”.
The two sides were joined by translators. Pic: Sputnik/AP
Pic: Reuters
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were joined by Kirill Dmitriev (2nd right) and Yuri Ushakov (left). Pic: Reuters
The meeting took place after an initial 28-point US peace plan was leaked and alarmed European officials, who said it heavily favoured Russia.
An “updated and refined peace framework” was formulated after talks between Europe, the US, and Ukraine in Geneva last month, but Mr Putin has indicated he will not accept it.
Putin: Europe on the side of war
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Putin said Russia was ready to fight if Europe wanted a war.
The Russian president accused European powers of changing peace proposals for Ukraine with “demands” that Russia considered “absolutely unacceptable”.
Mr Putin said the Europeans were “on the side of war”.
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Putin ‘lashes out’ at Europe
“We’re not planning to go to war with Europe, I’ve said that a hundred times,” he said following an investment forum.
“But if Europe suddenly wants to fight us and starts, we’re ready right now. There can be no doubt about that.”
“If Europe suddenly wants to start a war with us and does, then a situation could very quickly arise in which we have no one to negotiate with,” he added.
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Putin trying to frighten US away from Europe with war remarks
Zelenskyy in Dublin
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Dublin on Tuesday to meet Ireland’s prime minister and president.
During the trip, Mr Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet Mr Trump again, but it would depend on how successful the Moscow talks were.
He said the chances of ending the war were “better now than ever” but warned there would be “no easy decisions” and there must be “no games behind Ukraine’s back”.
President Zelenskyy had a guard of honour in Dublin. Pic: Reuters
Calling it “one of the most challenging but optimistic moments” since Russia invaded in 2022, he said the US was “taking serious steps to end this war one way or another”.
He admitted “some things still need to be worked out” and said a “decent, dignified peace” was needed.
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How history could view Trump as ‘biggest useful idiot’
Hotspots: Reality of life on frontline of journalism
President Zelenskyy, his wife Olena, and Irish President Catherine Connolly. Pic: Reuters
The Irish government announced €100m (£88m) in non-lethal aid for Ukraine, “generosity” for which Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was grateful.
It brings the total in non-lethal military aid provided to Ukraine this year to €200m (£176m).
The funding is part of a new Ireland-Ukraine partnership, which builds on an agreement signed last year.
It includes €25m (£22m) for the restoration and protection of energy infrastructure and a scheme to support training and other efforts as part of Ukraine’s path to EU accession, which Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped to achieve within five years.
The Americans were given the full VIP treatment on their visit to Moscow.
There was a motorcade from the airport, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and even a stroll around Red Square.
It felt like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on more of a tourist trail than the path to peace.
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Trump’s envoys walk around Moscow
They finally got down to business in the Kremlin more than six hours after arriving in Russia. And by that point, it was already clear that the one thing they had come to Moscow for wasn’t on offer: Russia’s agreement to their latest peace plan.
According to Vladimir Putin, it’s all Europe’s fault. While his guests were having lunch, he was busy accusing Ukraine’s allies of blocking the peace process by imposing demands that are unacceptable to Russia.
The Europeans, of course, would say it’s the other way round.
But where there was hostility to Europe, only hospitality to the Americans – part of Russia’s strategy to distance the US from its NATO allies, and bring them back to Moscow’s side.
Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff shaking hands in August. AP file pic
Putin thinks he’s winning…
Russia wants to return to the 28-point plan that caved in to its demands. And it believes it has the right to because of what’s happening on the battlefield.
It’s no coincidence that on the eve of the US delegation’s visit to Moscow, Russia announced the apparent capture of Pokrovsk, a key strategic target in the Donetsk region.
It was a message designed to assert Russian dominance, and by extension, reinforce its demands rather than dilute them.
Read more:
Michael Clarke answers your Ukraine war questions
‘Thousands’ of Westerners applying to live in Russia
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‘Everyone must be on this side of peace’
…and believes US-Russian interests are aligned
The other reason I think Vladimir Putin doesn’t feel the need to compromise is because he believes Moscow and Washington want the same thing: closer US-Russia relations, which can only come after the war is over.
It’s easy to see why. Time and again in this process, the US has defaulted to a position that favours Moscow. The way these negotiations are being conducted is merely the latest example.
With Kyiv, the Americans force the Ukrainians to come to them – first in Geneva, then Florida.
As for Moscow, it’s the other way around. Witkoff is happy to make the long overnight journey, and then endure the long wait ahead of any audience with Putin.
It all gives the impression that when it comes to Russia, the US prefers to placate rather than pressure.
According to the Kremlin, both Russia and the US have agreed not to disclose the details of yesterday’s talks in Moscow.
I doubt Volodymyr Zelenskyy is filled with hope.
The Pope has urged Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.
Leo, the first American pontiff, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there.
The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Mr Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.
The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.
Pope Leo XIV aboard a flight to Rome. Pic: Reuters
Asked during a news conference about President Trump’s threats to remove Mr Maduro by force, the Pope said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure.”
He added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.
The Pope was speaking as he flew home from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon – his first overseas trip in the role.
Mr Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Pic: Reuters
The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Mr Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.
Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.
It’s not been confirmed what was discussed at the meeting, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “There’s many options at the president’s disposal that are on the table – and I’ll let him speak on those.”
US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.
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‘The president has a right to take them out’
Mr Maduro – widely considered a dictator by the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans are ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.
“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.
Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.
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