A former deputy president of the Nigerian senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu will remain in Custody in the united Kingdom as the UK Central Criminal Court adjourned the alleged organ harvesting case till October 31.
Although the judge handling the case is going to hear pretrial applications on October 31, the trial will commence fully on May 2, 2023.
Recall that the Enugu West Senator and Beatrice, his wife, are facing charges bordering on conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.
They were arrested by London Metropolitan Police in June and appeared before a magistrate court in July.
While Ekweremadu’s wife was granted bail on July 22, the former deputy Senate president has not been lucky and has since been remanded in custody.
Senator Ekweremadu at the Thursday asked the court that a new lawyer represent him.
The police had alleged that David Ukpo, the reported victim at the centre of the organ harvesting allegation, is a 15-year-old but the court ruled that he is 21.
It was earlier reported that the Enugu West wrote to the UK high commission in December 2021 to support a visa application for Ukpo.
In the letter, Ekweremadu said Ukpo was undergoing medical investigations for a kidney donation to Sonia Ekweremadu, his daughter, who is in need of a kidney transplant.
He said both Ukpo and Sonia will be at the Royal Free Hospital London.
Ekweremadu’s appearance in the UK court is the third time since his arrest.
