June 26, (THEWILL) – The younger brother of David Ukpo Nwanmini, an alleged victim of organ trafficking, involving Senator Ike Ekwerrmadu and his wife, Beatrice, in the United Kingdom, said his sibling is 25 years old as against 15 claimed by the British Police.
The brother, Jonathan Ukpo Nwanmini, who claimed to be 22 years old, told Sunday Vanguard that the victim is his elder brother.
He said: ”David is my elder brother, we are both of the same father with different mothers and we hail from Ebonyi State. I will be 22 years old by next month and David is 25 years old. I am aware that he travelled because he told me. He did not disclose the country he was travelling to. He simply told me he was going to school abroad.
“After some months of not hearing from him, I got his number from his girlfriend and called him. I asked about his studies and work.
“He said it was fine, but that he was not working yet, as he needed to go to school first before he could be given a working paper. I told him about our dad who was not feeling fine.
“This was the conversation we had this month since January when he travelled. He was staying with us here in Ikotun before he left. We both sell phone accessories. We spoke last week. We even spoke again this week.”
The newspaper quoted another businessman in Ikotun, who pleaded anonymity as saying that: “David left Nigeria in January. He told us that someone promised to sponsor his education in the UK. He never mentioned the name of the person, but from what I have read online, it might be that the person was an intermediary between David and the former Deputy Speaker.”
THEWILL had reported that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were on Thursday, arrested and arraigned before an Uxbridge Magistrates Court in West London, for alleged trafficking of a 15-year-old David Ukpo into the United Kingdom for a concealed medical procedure to harvest and transplant his kidney to their ailing daughter.
The Metropolitan Police had said that investigation was launched after detectives were alerted to potential offences under modern slavery legislation in May, 2022.
But a letter written by Ekweremadu, suggested that the lawmaker disclosed to the British embassy why he was taking David Ukpo to London.
Senator Ekweremadu, according to the letter, was seeking a kidney transplant for his sick daughter, Sonia, and the procedure was scheduled to take place at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
Meanwhile, the former Deputy Senate President and his wife have been remanded on the order of the Uxbridge Magistrates Court, after it denied the couple bail.
The court subsequently adjourned till July 7, ahead of an advisory by the Attorney General on issues of Jurisdiction.
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