The former vice president of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has refused to offer money to buy a kidney from a donor intended for his ailing daughter, Sonia.
Recall that the MP, his wife, Beatrice, and their 25-year-old daughter are on trial in London for allegedly trafficking young Nigerians to donate kidneys.
Ekweremadus is accused of offering £7,000 to a 21-year-old trafficker, whom he flew to London and mistaking as Sonia’s cousin to get a kidney.
However, in his opening speech at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, the lawyer for the defendant, Martin Hicks, insisted that the donor had acted “altruistically,” according to the Daily Mail.
Hicks told the judges, “I hope to live with the cultural differences between this country and Nigeria, especially for altruistic donations.
“We say that the issue, in this case, is simple – was there an agreement to exploit (donors) in the manner alleged by the prosecution and if so, who was the party?
“In Nigerian society, there is an expression of ‘everyone is each other’s keeper’ and altruistic organ donation is not considered a rare event as it is in this country.
“He will also say that he was told (the donor) had donated his kidney to Sonia altruistically.”
Hicks said Ekweremadu did not attend visits to the Royal Free Hospital in February and March last year, which concluded that the donor was not suitable.
He added, “In April 2022 and with the help of Diwe, they continue to find a suitable donor family for their son Sonia and the search continues.
He has been detained by British authorities since June 23 when his wife was granted bail by a criminal court in London.
Source: Vanguardngr
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