This case follows on from VITA’s attendance at the recent Organ Trafficking Conference led and organised by the Metropolitan Police. Here, we explain the first successfully prosecuted organ trafficking case in the UK.
In May 2023, a senior Nigerian politician, his wife, and a doctor were jailed for an organ trafficking plot following a landmark prosecution in the UK. It marks the first-time defendants have been convicted under the Modern Slavery Act of an organ harvesting conspiracy in the UK. The three individuals were found guilty after bringing an impoverished market trader to the UK, intending to use one of his kidneys for a transplant.
Ike Ekweremadu, 60, a former deputy president of the Nigerian senate and lawyer, was sentenced to nine years and eight months. Medical ‘middleman’ Dr Obinna Obeta, 51, was given 10 years in prison, while Ekweremadu’s wife Beatrice, 56, was sentenced to four years and six months (1).
Obeta himself had moved to London from Nigeria to have his own private kidney transplant surgery at the Royal Free Hospital London in 2021, with a Nigerian donor posing as his cousin.
The organ harvesting plan was formed after Ike and Beatrice’s daughter, Sonia Ekweremadu, was forced to drop out of university. She suffers from a deteriorating kidney disease and requires regular dialysis. Sonia Ekweremadu was acquitted.
In May 2023, Sonia Ekweremadu discussed with the BBC how her parents had sought a kidney donor for her from outside due to the family’s health history. She said her father’s family has a history of kidney conditions (including a certain genetic mutation) and thus, there were no suitable family donors for her deteriorating disease. Ike Ekweremadu told the courts that he had been advised to find a non-family kidney donor by his brother, Diwe, who is a medical doctor. Sonia told the BBC (2) that she felt sadness and guilt for the resulting devastation upon her family due to her kidney condition.
The Ekweremadu’s donor was found by Dr Obeta in a remote Nigerian village. The 21-year-old survivor grew up without electricity or running water and earnt only a few pounds a day selling phone accessories from a wheelbarrow in Lagos. Here he was recruited by Obeta and told he could earn up to £7,000 for his family and promised work in the UK. The survivor reports he was tricked into giving blood to determine whether he was suitable match, before being flown to the UK (3).
The Ekweremadu family told doctors at the Hospital that their Nigerian donor and Sonia Ekweremadu were cousins, and that the donation was altruistic. This was also necessary to justify the victim’s temporary visa to travel to the UK. However, a consultant at the unit, Peter Dupont, declined to give the go-ahead for the kidney transplant in February 2022 because he believed that the donor did not understand the risks and implications associated with the operation. He had doubts regarding the familial link between the donor and Sonia Ekweremadu and feared the man was being “financially coerced.” (4)
The victim then returned to Obeta’s flat where he reports he was “examined with the intention of being sent back to Nigeria.” Here, he escaped, and after spending several days homeless, he presented to Staines Police Station asking for help on May 5. He reported that he had been trafficked from Nigera to the UK and that someone was trying to transplant his kidney. He was scared and fearful that on return to Nigeria, he would be killed by those loyal to the Edweremadu family, or lined up for another transplant in Nigeria. Thus, an investigation was opened (Operation Manoa) and achieved successful prosecution.
Joanne Jakymec, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “This was an horrific plot to exploit a vulnerable victim by trafficking him to the UK for the purpose of transplanting his kidney.
“The convicted defendants showed utter disregard for the victim’s welfare, health and well-being and used their considerable influence to a high degree of control throughout, with the victim having limited understanding of what was really going on here.” (1)
Detective Inspector Esther Richardson, from the Met’s Modern Slavery and Exploitation Command, said: “This is a landmark conviction and we commend the victim for his bravery in speaking against these offenders.
“We could not have done this without the help of our colleagues in the CPS, Human Tissue Authority and other partners who have worked tirelessly to achieve this result.” (1)
Detectives have also confirmed that Operation Manoa continues to be ongoing.
This case has highlighted the vulnerabilities in the UK’s vetting system for living transplant. Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson, in his sentencing remarks, echoed the prosecution’s suggestion that “a lesson to be learned from this case is that clinicians must be alive to the risk of trafficking and report cases like this when concerns arise” (4). Similarly, The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) which regulates transplants within the UK, has reviewed hundreds of similar operations since 2017.
Sonia herself, reported that she was still on dialysis (as of May 2023), but is hoping to receive a transplant soon (2).
References:
- The Crown Prosecution Service (2023). Updated with sentence: Senior Nigerian politician jailed over illegal UK organ-harvesting plot. Available from: https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/updated-sentence-senior-nigerian-politician-jailed-over-illegal-uk-organ-harvesting-plot
- BBC (2023). I feel guilty, dis tin happun to my parents becos of me – Sonia Ekweremadu. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/cmj7lrgy3m7o
- Justice & Care (2023). Three jailed for organ harvesting plot in landmark case. Available from: https://justiceandcare.org/news/three-jailed-for-organ-harvesting-plot-in-landmark-case/
- Dyer C. Nigerian politician, his wife, and a doctor are guilty of organ trafficking to UK BMJ 2023; 380 :p710 doi:10.1136/bmj.p710
- The Guardian (2023). Met police investigate more organ trafficking cases in the UK. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/05/met-police-investigate-more-organ-trafficking-cases-in-uk