The UK government has turned down a Nigerian request to transfer former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to Nigeria to complete his prison term, British and Nigerian media reports say.
Ekweremadu is serving nine years and eight months after being convicted in the UK of conspiring to exploit a man for his kidney. The rejection follows a high-level visit earlier this month by a Nigerian delegation to London, which aimed to seek either an early release or a review of his sentence on humanitarian and legal grounds.
The delegation met officials at the UK Ministry of Justice and included Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi. They were also received at the Nigerian High Commission by Acting High Commissioner Mohammed Maidugu, according to Daily Trust.
The Guardian reported that a Ministry of Justice source confirmed the request was refused. UK officials were reportedly concerned that Nigeria could not guarantee Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence if transferred. A government spokesperson said prisoner transfers are decided “at our discretion following a careful assessment of whether it would be in the interests of justice,” and declined to comment on individual cases.
A source quoted in the report added: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.” Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, who was sentenced to four years and six months (with half to be spent in custody), was released earlier this year and has returned to Nigeria.
UK authorities have not issued a further public statement beyond the responses cited in media reports.
