President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a high-level team to London to negotiate the transfer of former deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu, currently serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom.
The delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar and Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, arrived in London on Monday and held meetings with senior officials at the UK Ministry of Justice.
According to Tuggar’s spokesperson, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the team’s mandate is to explore all diplomatic and legal options that would allow Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria, in line with international prisoner transfer agreements.
Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, and Dr. Obinna Obeta were arrested in June 2022 following an investigation into an alleged organ trafficking scheme. A 21-year-old man had been brought to London under false pretences to provide a kidney for Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia.
In March 2023, a UK court found the trio guilty under the Modern Slavery Act, a first-of-its-kind conviction in the UK. Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months, Beatrice to four years and six months, and Obeta to ten years. Beatrice has since served part of her sentence and returned to Nigeria in January 2025.
The Tinubu administration’s delegation marks a decisive diplomatic step to secure Ekweremadu’s transfer, though final approval remains subject to UK legal processes and bilateral agreements between both countries.
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