Finally, Ekweremadu, Wife Opens Up on Alleged Human Trafficking in London Court
- The Magistrate’s Court sitting in London has denied Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice bail
- The embattled couple who is facing serious allegations of human trafficking pleaded not guilty before the court
- Ekweremadu and his wife were however remanded in prison with the court adjourning proceedings until Thursday, July 7
United Kingdom, London - Emerging reports have confirmed that Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice who were arraigned before a London Magistrate’s Court have denied allegations of human trafficking, The Nation newspaper reported.
According to the report, the defence counsel to the accused, Gavin Irwin and Antonia Gray spoke in favour of the embattled couple in order to secure their bail.
Source: Facebook
Legit.ng gathered that a prepared statement by Ekweremadu issued by his attorney stated that he denies the allegation levelled against him.
The statement reads:
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“Mr Ekweremadu in his prepared statement denied allegations of human trafficking.
“He said at no stage has he arranged transport for anyone with intention to exploit them.
“His wife similarly denied the allegations in her prepared statement, the court heard.
“He is a member of the bar in Nigeria. He is a principal in a law firm that bears his name.
"Those issues taken together go way beyond him being a person of good character…rather that he has led a blameless life as a public servant."
Mr Irwin added that the allegations were ‘nothing short of preposterous’.
Antonia Gray, for Mrs. Ekweremadu, said:
"She has never been complicit or involved in any alleged illegal trafficking of any young person. She is a financial accountant with an unblemished record."
London court denies Ekweremadu, wife bail
Meanwhile, the Guardian newspaper reported that the couple were denied bail by the Magistrate's court.
It was gathered that the court adjourned the case untill July 7th while Ekweremadu and his wife are remanded in prison.
However, in a statement issued by the Metropolitan police it was confirmed that the duo were charged with conspiring to arrange to bring a child to the UK to harvest organs in their home country, Nigeria.
The charge was on the premise of conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
Police, however, said the child is in safe custody with the gender, age or location of the child is still unknown.
Court says teenage boy with Ekweremadu was a homeless
An earlier report had indicated that the victim is a homeless boy who was taken off the street of Lagos state.
Ekweremadu and his wife will have to convince the British authorities that the boy was not coerced into giving out his kidney.
The case has been adjourned till Thursday, July 7.
2023: Ekweremadu suffers backlash for saying southeast will not vote for Peter Obi
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Ekweremadu was in a mix of criticism for his comment that the southeast region of Nigeria will not vote for the Labour Party flag bearer and ex-governor of Anambra state Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential polls.
The backlash started when a video of the PDP chieftain surfaced on social media where he stated that the southeast cannot afford to throw away their vote by voting Obi in the forthcoming presidential polls.
It was gathered that he made this comment shortly after Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was announced as running mate to PDP’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar.
Source: Legit.ng
