> A consultant working in a NHS hospital refused to remove a vital organ from a 15-year-old allegedly trafficked to London from the streets of Lagos by the former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate and his wife, a court has heard.
> The doctor at the Royal Free in Camden became suspicious about whether the alleged victim was aware he was the donor of the kidney and whether he was 41 as his passport claimed.
> Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and Beatrice Ekweremadu, 55, are accused of taking the homeless youngster to the UK from Nigeria to transplant his organs into their daughter who is suffering from kidney failure.
> The 15-year-old was given the passport of a 41-year-old in order to get into the UK, but did not know he was there to donate a kidney until he went a hospital appointment in London, a court heard yesterday.
> After he arrived in the capital in February he had a string of medical appointments about kidney donation, but a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, became concerned about the boy’s real age and if he knew he was there to donate an organ, it is alleged.
> Mr Ekweremadu has been an elected senator at the Abuja-based parliament since 2003 after moving into politics after years as a lawyer. His wife, five years his junior, is an academic and doctor and also a major public figure in Nigeria. They are believed to have four adult children. Both deny trafficking the boy.
> Prosecutor Damla Ayas told Uxbridge Magistrates Court yesterday: ‘The victim was 15. In Nigeria he was approached by both defendants. He was homeless on the streets of Lagos. They deceived him and promised him a better life in the UK. He was given a passport for a 41-year-old. The passport was illegally obtained by these defendants.
This story is absolutely wild.
Most mad story of 2022 and there’s been some stiff competition for that title.
Putting aside the terrible story, did our border force really let a 15 year old in on a 41 year olds passport?
Thank goodness that consultant was on the ball.
Although it does seem baffling to me that they’d even try it in a regular NHS hospital. Talking to living donors to make sure that they understand the consequences of what they’re agreeing to is standard procedure. Why not do it elsewhere, if they had the means?
I’m glad the boy is safe & fine.
Shows the lengths some people will go to to save their children.
I’m just confused as to why they couldn’t find a willing donor?
Its good the doctor clocked what was going on but can’t shake the idea someone else has probably successfully managed to do what they were trying on
I wonder if a relative of their’s needed a kidney? Or was it just for the money?
7 comments
> A consultant working in a NHS hospital refused to remove a vital organ from a 15-year-old allegedly trafficked to London from the streets of Lagos by the former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate and his wife, a court has heard.
> The doctor at the Royal Free in Camden became suspicious about whether the alleged victim was aware he was the donor of the kidney and whether he was 41 as his passport claimed.
> Ike Ekweremadu, 60, and Beatrice Ekweremadu, 55, are accused of taking the homeless youngster to the UK from Nigeria to transplant his organs into their daughter who is suffering from kidney failure.
> The 15-year-old was given the passport of a 41-year-old in order to get into the UK, but did not know he was there to donate a kidney until he went a hospital appointment in London, a court heard yesterday.
> After he arrived in the capital in February he had a string of medical appointments about kidney donation, but a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, became concerned about the boy’s real age and if he knew he was there to donate an organ, it is alleged.
> Mr Ekweremadu has been an elected senator at the Abuja-based parliament since 2003 after moving into politics after years as a lawyer. His wife, five years his junior, is an academic and doctor and also a major public figure in Nigeria. They are believed to have four adult children. Both deny trafficking the boy.
> Prosecutor Damla Ayas told Uxbridge Magistrates Court yesterday: ‘The victim was 15. In Nigeria he was approached by both defendants. He was homeless on the streets of Lagos. They deceived him and promised him a better life in the UK. He was given a passport for a 41-year-old. The passport was illegally obtained by these defendants.
This story is absolutely wild.
Most mad story of 2022 and there’s been some stiff competition for that title.
Putting aside the terrible story, did our border force really let a 15 year old in on a 41 year olds passport?
Thank goodness that consultant was on the ball.
Although it does seem baffling to me that they’d even try it in a regular NHS hospital. Talking to living donors to make sure that they understand the consequences of what they’re agreeing to is standard procedure. Why not do it elsewhere, if they had the means?
I’m glad the boy is safe & fine.
Shows the lengths some people will go to to save their children.
I’m just confused as to why they couldn’t find a willing donor?
Its good the doctor clocked what was going on but can’t shake the idea someone else has probably successfully managed to do what they were trying on
I wonder if a relative of their’s needed a kidney? Or was it just for the money?
It’s stuff like this that makes Britain stronger.