Tinubu Sends Delegation to UK for Discussions on Ekweremadu’s Situation

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally dispatched a high-level delegation to the United Kingdom to engage British officials over the detention of former Senate Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu.

According to the report, the team landed in London on Monday and met representatives of the UK Ministry of Justice as part of efforts to explore legal and humanitarian avenues. Newsmakers

The delegation is understood to include Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Attorney-General & Minister of Justice Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi. They were reportedly received at the Nigerian High Commission London by Acting High Commissioner Mohammed Maidugu.

What’s the Case About?

Ike Ekweremadu, a veteran lawmaker, was convicted by a UK court in March 2023 for his role in an organ-trafficking plot. He and his wife, Beatrice, were found guilty of conspiring to bring a 21-year-old from Lagos to the UK for a kidney transplant for their daughter.

Ekweremadu received a sentence of nine years and eight months, his wife four years and six months, and the medical doctor involved ten years.

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The Nigerian team’s objective appears two-fold: to secure a review of Ekweremadu’s sentence or to explore a transfer to Nigeria under bilateral arrangement. According to diplomatic sources, the discussions are framed around “humanitarian and legal grounds”.

Legal analysts note that under UK law any change in sentence or transfer depends on specific legal protocols and cannot simply be overridden by diplomatic intervention.

Reaction and Implications

Back in Nigeria, the move has elicited mixed responses. Some Nigerians on the social media platform X- (formerly Twitter) described it as the government standing up for its citizen despite his offence:

“Whatever his offence, Ekweremadu remains a Nigerian. It’s good that our government is finally standing up for its citizens abroad.”

Others caution that

“Diplomatic lobbying can’t rewrite a criminal conviction. Justice must not be politicised, no matter the status of the convict.”

 

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From a diplomatic-relations vantage point, a successful outcome could signal increased cooperation between Nigeria and the UK on prisoner welfare and legal assistance. But failure may raise questions about Nigeria’s influence in overseas legal affairs.

The follow-ups are expected to extend over several weeks, possibly involving the UK Home Office, human-rights agencies and the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry. A formal statement from either government is awaited.