Senator Ike Ekweremadu
Reports emerging from the United Kingdom show that the government has rejected an appeal from the Nigerian Government concerning former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
NewsBits recalls that a Nigerian delegation was in the UK weeks back, during which the team requested to transfer Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria. The delegation from Nigeria included the foreign affairs minister, Yusuf Tugur, and Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice.
UK Guardian is now reporting that the request has been turned down. The medium quoted an unnamed official of ministry of justice (MoJ), to that effect. “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 Guardian quoted the official as saying.”
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law,” it added.
NewsBits recalls that Ekweremadu and his wife were convicted in March 2023 alongside a medical doctor practicing in the UK for organ trafficking. The wife has since returned to Nigeria after completing her sentence.
