BREAKING: UK declines Nigeria’s appeal for Ekweremadu’s repatriation

The United Kingdom has turned down a request from the Nigerian government to allow former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to complete his prison sentence in Nigeria.

Ekweremadu is currently serving time in a UK facility after he was convicted in 2023 for plotting to harvest the kidney of a young man.

The high-profile case attracted widespread international attention and led to a sentence of nine years and eight months.

A delegation led by the minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, recently met with officials at the UK Ministry of Justice to discuss the possibility of returning Ekweremadu to Nigeria.

The team requested that he be deported so he could serve the rest of his sentence at home. However, according to The Guardian UK, a source at the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the request was rejected.

The report stated that the UK government had concerns that Nigeria could not provide firm guarantees that Ekweremadu would continue serving his sentence after being transferred.

A source was quoted as saying: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”

With the rejection of the request, Ekweremadu will remain in the United Kingdom to complete his sentence.

His wife, Beatrice Ekweremadu, who was sentenced to four years and six months with half of the term to be served in custody, was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria.