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Organ Harvesting: UK Court Rules Ekweremadu Kidney Donor Victim Is 21, Not 15 As Claimed

Gavin Irwin, counsel for the Ekweremadus at Westminster Magistrates Court, London, insisted that the victim in the case, Ukpo is not a minor as the prosecutor claimed.

A Westminster Magistrates Court in the United Kingdom has ruled that David Ukpo, the alleged victim in the organ harvesting case against former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, is not 15 years old as initially claimed.

Gavin Irwin, counsel for the Ekweremadus at Westminster Magistrates Court, London, insisted that the victim in the case, Ukpo is not a minor as the prosecutor claimed.

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Irwin, while addressing the court on Thursday claimed that the victim has admitted that he is 21 years old as against the 15 years claimed by the prosecutor which could make the victim a minor.

 

"We deny that there was exploitation or intent to do so," Ekweremadu’s lawyer said.

According to Arise TV, Ukpo admitted to the court that he is 21 years old and had been in the UK since February but did not present himself to the police till May.

The couple who are currently being detained in different prisons in the UK over alleged organ harvesting and trafficking appeared in the UK Court on Thursday for continued trial.

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SaharaReporters earlier reported that Ekweremadu had approached Nigeria’s Federal High Court, Abuja to compel the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to provide a certified copy of the victim’s information to the UK Court to establish his real age.

 

The Commission denied the request but later requested to send the victim’s information to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) for onward transmission to the UK Court.

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But while it is not yet clear whether the information was eventually sent to London before the Thursday court proceedings, Ekweremadu’s counsel claimed that the victim has admitted that he is 21 years old, but the prosecutor objected to the claim.

However, the court ruled that the victim is not a minor, hence, Ukpo will no longer be considered a minor in the trial.

[story_link align="left"]Age Conflict: Nigerian Court Orders Immigration, Others To Release Alleged Organ Trafficking Victim, David’s Official Details To Ekweremadu[/story_link]

Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned to August 4 and the Ekweremadus will appear at the Central Criminal Court in London for the continuation of the trial as approved by the UK Attorney General.

 

Present at the Westminster Magistrates Court from Nigeria were former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; former Senate President, David Mark; former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Adamu Bulkachuwa.

 

 

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