Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has begged the Chief Clerk of the Central Criminal Court in London, United Kingdom, to be lenient with former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who was found guilty of organ tr@fficking.
Ekweremadu, alongside his wife Beatrice, and a Nigerian doctor Obinna Obeta, were recently found guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to the United Kingdom with a view to his exploit@tion after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey.
However, in a letter dated April 3, 2023 and addressed to the Chief Clerk of the court, Obasanjo said: “Mr. Chief Clerk, I am very much aware of the current travails and conviction of Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the United Kingdom resulting from their being charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old from Nigeria to the UK in order to harv£§t organs for their daughter.
I do realise the implications of their action and I dare say, it is unpleasant and cond£mnable and can’t be tolerated in any sane or civilized society.
However, it is my fervent desire for the very warm relations between the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Nigeria; for his position as one of the distinguished Senators in the Nigerian Parliament, and also for the sake of their daughter in question whose current health condition is in d@nger and requires an urgent medical attention, you will use your good offices to intervene and appeal to the court and the government of the United Kingdom to be magnanimous enough to temper justice with mercy and let puni$hment that may have to come take their good character and parental instinct and care into consideration.
I do hope Mr. and Mrs. Ekweremadu have learnt from this distressing experience of theirs to guide their future actions or inactions so they will continue to be outstanding members of their community and will continue to contribute fully to the good of the society in particular and the nation in general.”
