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Startling revelations have surfaced in a recent BBC documentary where David Nwamini’s brother gave disturbing attestation about his sibling’s trafficking to the United Kingdom by former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
Deceived and abducted against his will, David’s fate was to become an unwilling participant in organ harvesting. The heartbreaking consequences of this ordeal took a toll on their father, who suffered both emotionally and physically from the anguish of David’s disappearance— David’s sibling noted.
On May 5, a UK court delivered its verdict, sentencing the Nigerian senator to a prison term of nine years and eight months for engaging in organ trafficking. Similarly, his wife, Beatrice, received a sentence of four years and six months, while the doctor, Obinna Obeta, who was accused of colluding with the couple, was handed a 10-year prison sentence.
The charges stemmed from their alleged involvement in procuring a 21-year-old street trader named David and transporting him to the UK with the intention of harvesting his kidney for their ailing daughter, Sonia.
Sonia, who suffers from severe kidney disease, has been enduring the challenging routine of dialysis for five hours each day, three to four times a week, in her quest for a transplant.
Read also: Organ Harvesting: Ekweremadu Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison
As per investigations, BBC encountered David’s brother in a bustling market in Lagos, where the supposed victim used to sell mobile phone accessories.
In an interview with BBC’s File on 4, David’s brother revealed that he has had no contact with his sibling since his sudden disappearance in February 2022. It was only months later, with the news of the trial making headlines, that he discovered David’s whereabouts.
‘Here is [where] he’s selling. Last year he left. He left by February. Nobody sees him. He disappeared,’ David’s sibling said.
‘We have been crying every day and my father has grieved so much he’s become very sick.’
‘David was deceived and carried away,‘ he added.
David’s landlord, with whom he had regular daily interactions prior to his disappearance, expressed a different perspective, refuting the notion that David would not have willingly agreed to sell his kidney.
‘Because he knows there are other ways to make money. Even for £1m wouldn’t have done it,’ the landlord added.
The situation created a stir as influential political figures appealed to the UK government, requesting leniency in the sentencing.
