The fall from grace of former Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu is now complete after he was sentenced by a British court to nine years in prison for illegal organ trafficking plot.

The court also sentenced his wife, Beatrice, to four years six months while the medical doctor who acted as the ‘middleman’ in the whole sordid episode, Dr. Obinna Obeta received 10 years and a suspension of his medical license.

Ekweremadu, his wife and Obeta were found guilty last month by the British court for criminally conspiring to bring a 21-year-old Lagos cellphone street vendor to London to donate organs to Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia who needed kidney transplant to stay alive.

The London court heard how the Ekweremadus’ presented the street vendor as a cousin of Sonia’s in a bid to convince the doctors with the Royal Free Hospital in London to allow the nearly $100,000 operation to proceed.

Sonia Ekweremadu after her parent’s sentencing.

The prosecutor, Hugh Davies KC told the court that the Ekweremadus and Obeta had treated the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward”.

During a televised sentence hearing, Mr Justice Johnson recognised Ike Ekweremadu’s “substantial fall from grace”.

Lynette Woodrow, deputy chief crown prosecutor and national modern slavery lead at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it had been “our first conviction for trafficking for the purposes of organ removal in England and Wales”.

She said it highlighted an important legal principle which made it irrelevant whether the trafficking victim knew he was coming to the UK to provide a kidney.

“With all trafficking offences,” Ms Woodrow said, “the consent of the person trafficked is no defense. The law is clear; you cannot consent to your own exploitation.”

Nigerians living abroad sent home nearly $200b to help families and to invest in the country in the last eight years, according to a report by The World Bank.

According to the report, Nigerians in diaspora remitted a stunning $168.33 billion to the country.

But the huge inflow of foreign currency from diaspora Nigerians was not enough to stem the scarcity of foreign currency in the country leading to the free fall of the Naira, Nigeria’s local currency.

The World Bank reported that remittances to Sub Saharan African from abroad grew 5.2 percent to $53 billion, and the largest share of that went to Nigeria.

A breakdown of the figures released by The World Bank showed that in 2015, the Diaspora remittance was $21.2bn; it fell to $19.7bn in 2016; and increased to $22bn in 2017.

By 2018, it was $24.31bn. It soon fell to $23.81bn in 2019, and the pandemic caused it to plummet to 17.21bn in 2020. It made a rebound to $19.2bn in 2021 and by 2022 the World Bank estimated that the inflows into the country had reached $20.9bn.

The World Bank report said foreign remittances to Nigeria was the top source of non-oil foreign exchange for the country.

As of April 19, 2023, data from the CBN showed that Nigeria’s forex reserve was $34.43bn, an 18.4 per cent increase from the $29.07bn it was in 2015.

But Nigerians abroad are warning that the current economic condition in various North American and European countries may affect their ability to continue to send money home.

“Things are no longer the way they used to be. Things are tough no,” warned Blessing Okon, a resident of England who said she regularly sent money to her parents but is now cutting back due to the economic conditions.

 
Afrocentrik Television, a local television station featuring news and events about Africans in the diaspora, will host its first annual Eva Awards on Sunday, October 9, 2022.

The venue for the event is the Stafford Civic Center, in Houston, TX. Event starts at 5:00 PM.

According to Wole Van Olasoji, President and CEO of Afrocentrik Television, the event is aimed at highlighting the progress and achievement of Africans in the diaspora and to promote excellence in the community.

“This is our first award, and the goal is to promote excellence, values, and achievements of our community members. We hope to encourage the community by presenting this award,” he said.

African business owners in Houston and other Texas cities are expected at the award show. Entertainers expected to attend include D’Lyte, Seyi Alesh, Demola the Violinist, and Helen Paul.

According to a release from Afrocentrik Television, the Afrocentrik award show will celebrate excellence, values, and achievements and honor the outstanding contributions of the African Diaspora in the Greater Houston Metro Area.

All proceeds will be donated to an outstanding charitable organization in the Houston community.

Awards will be handed out to individuals and companies in various categories including healthcare, sports, law firm, restaurant, media, real estate, and more.

There is a cost to attend the award. Complete information is on Afrocentrik Television’s website.