The federal government’s request to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria has been rejected by the United Kingdom.
Ekweremadu, who is in prison in the UK for organ trafficking, was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to nine years and eight months for conspiring to exploit a young man’s kidney.
President Bola Tinubu had, in March, sent a delegation to London to discuss Ekweremadu’s case and explore the possibility of him serving the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria.
According to the UK Guardian, an unnamed official of the Ministry of Justice revealed that the federal government’s request was rejected.
“A source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected. It is understood the UK government was concerned that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported.
“Any prisoner transfer is at our discretion following a careful assessment of whether it would be in the interests of justice.
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law,” the UK Guardian quoted the source as saying.
