The daughter of Nigerian senator Ike Ekweremadu appeared in court on Monday, November 7, over the alleged trafficking of a homeless man into the UK to harvest his organs for herself.
The 25-year-old is accused alongside her father, Ike Ekweremadu, 60, her mother, Beatrice Ekweremadu, 56, and 50-year-old doctor Obinna Obeta.
Four of them have been charged with conspiracy to arrange the travel of another person with a view to exploitation.
It was claimed that they planned with some unknown persons, as well as another family member Isaac Ekweremadu, to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old with a view to exploiting him between 1 August 2021 and 5 May this year.
Prosecutors claim they all arranged his travel to the UK in a bid to harvest his kidneys for Sonia, who has been on dialysis for some time.
After these tests, the man said he had returned to the house he had been staying in, where he was ‘treated effectively as a slave’.
He said he escaped the address and was homeless for three days before going to the police.
Ike, a barrister and former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife Beatrice were arrested in the UK on 21 June after flying into Heathrow from Turkey.
Photos of Ike Ekweremadu’s wife and daughter, Sonia, in court today as police charge her for ‘trafficking a homeless man into the UK to harvest his organs for herself’ pic.twitter.com/0wVpzPFs4J
— YabaLeftOnline (@yabaleftonline) November 7, 2022
Ike and Obeta are currently on remand in HMP Wandsworth and HMP Belmarsh, respectively, as they were not brought to court.
Beatrice was granted bail at a hearing in July and appeared in court today wearing a black head-wrap and long black coat.
Sonia is also on bail and appeared alongside her mother wearing a knitted, patterned sweater vest.
The defendants were due to enter their pleas, but this could not occur today because of further legal arguments.
The trial has been brought forward from May to 31 January next year at the Old Bailey.