The United Kingdom government has rejected a formal request from the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow former Nigerian Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu serve the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu, a prominent Nigerian lawmaker, is currently jailed in the UK after being convicted in March 2023 for attempting to procure a kidney from a young man for transplant purposes.
He was sentenced to nine years and eight months for what UK authorities described as a conspiracy to exploit a vulnerable individual.
President Tinubu had earlier this month dispatched a high-level Nigerian delegation to London to negotiate Ekweremadu’s possible transfer under international prisoner-transfer arrangements.
The delegation included Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
Okay News reports that according to The UK Guardian, the request was declined after Britain’s Ministry of Justice (MoJ) ruled that Nigeria could not provide firm assurances that Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence upon return.
The UK Guardian quoted an unnamed MoJ official who said: “A source at the MoJ has confirmed the request was rejected. It is understood the UK government was concerned that Nigeria could offer no guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue his prison sentence after being deported.”
The official added that prisoner transfers are handled with caution. “Any prisoner transfer is at our discretion following a careful assessment of whether it would be in the interests of justice.”
He further stressed Britain’s uncompromising stance on human exploitation: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”
