Ekweremadu: APC Chieftain Adamu Garba Asks FG to Immediately Summon UK Ambassador, Gives Reason
- A United Kingdom (UK) court on Friday, May 5, sentenced Ekweremadu to 10 years in prison for organ trafficking
- The Nigerian politician, his wife and their doctor had earlier been found guilty of organ trafficking but their sentencing was deferred to Friday, May 5
- Adamu Garba, an APC chieftain, expressed strong disapproval with Ekweremadu, a former deputy Senate president of Nigeria, serving a jail term in the UK
FCT, Abuja - A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adamu Garba, on Friday, May 5, expressed his displeasure with the jail sentence of Nigeria's former deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.
Legit.ng had reported that a United Kingdom (UK) court Friday sentenced Ekweremadu to 10 years in prison for organ trafficking.
Source: Facebook
The court also sentenced Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, to four years and six months in prison while a doctor who allegedly colluded with them, Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Nigerian politician and the two others were found guilty of organ trafficking but their sentencing was deferred to Friday, May 5. They allegedly procured a 21-year-old Nigerian and flew him to the UK with the intention to harvest his kidney for their sick daughter.
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Commenting on the judgment, Garba said the development is ‘a dent upon the image of our country and its sovereignty’. He asked the Nigerian government to immediately summon the UK Ambassador to Nigeria over the matter.
Garba wrote on his verified Twitter handle:
“A whole former deputy senate president to serve a jail term in a foreign land?! What kind of country are we?”
The former presidential hopeful added:
“I saw some pleas from different people for his release, most notably from former President Obasanjo and the Speaker of House of Representatives, but this isn’t enough.
“If Nigeria is serious on this issue, we should immediately summon a UK ambassador to Nigeria, express our displeasure with the situation, minding not the attitude of Senator Ekweremadu but on the institution he represents, then, perhaps, afterwards, negotiate within our diplomatic basket, for what we can give them in other to get him back to Nigeria.”
Furthermore, Adamu expressed strong disapproval with Ekweremadu, a former deputy senate president, serving a jail term in the UK.
The implications of Ekweremadu's sentencing
Adamu continued:
“Allowing such to happen started during Obasanjo’s administration, when they mistakenly, in the name of fighting corruption, allowed late Governor Alamesigha and former Governor Ibori to serve jail terms in a foreign land. That was a bad precedent and we should be mindful of such unwholesome, unpatriotic mistakes.”
He concluded:
“Nigeria is a sovereign state with its laws, principles and justice system, equal enough to administer justice and apply sanctions on breach of law.
“We must stand up for our institutions and protect their sovereignty in the name of our national interests.”
Ekweremadu: IHRC writes UK government, plea for clemency
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) appealed to the Government of the United Kingdom for leniency in the sentencing of Ekweremadu, alongside his wife Beatrice and Dr Obinna Obeta.
Ambassador at Large and Head of Diplomatic Mission to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Ambassador (Dr.) Duru Hezekiah said Ekweremadu is a patriotic Nigerian who has served the Nigerian Senate thrice since 2003.
Source: Legit.ng
