The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has blamed the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari for the travails of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment by a United Kingdom Crown Court on charges of organ harvesting.
His wife, Beatrice, 56, was also jailed for four years and six months due to her “more limited involvement” in the plot, as the court described Ekweremadu as the “driving force throughout” the process.
A medical doctor, Obinna Obeta, 56, also bagged 10 years after the judge found that he had “targeted the potential donor, who was young, poor and vulnerable”.
Despite the details of the case being in public space, the Igbo group accused the Federal Government of hounding the politician so as to confiscate his properties.
In a statement on Saturday in Owerri, National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, accused the government of doing nothing to help Ekweremadu because it was after him as well.
“We feel sad. Ike Ekweremadu is an illustrious son of Igboland. He has been indicted and sentenced to long imprisonment.
“It’s unfortunate and saddening that this has befallen him. Ekweremadu is an eminent personality in Nigeria; he served the country meritoriously even as Deputy President of the Senate, and was Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament.
“For a man that has the kind of experience he has to be away from the scene for ten years, it’s very unfortunate. But we’re hopeful that they will overcome this travail.
“This is a man who has been around you, walked with you for years and when he needed your help, they were busy talking about auctioning his properties.
“They did not treat him like someone who has served meritoriously in this country.
“Rather, while he was facing the travails, the federal government came out with charges and allegations of corruption and seized his properties.
“All those things indicated that it was not only the UK court that was after him, but the FG was also after him,” Ogbonnia said.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has urged a former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, to appeal the sentencing.
Reacting to the judgment on Friday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, urged Ekweremadu to file an appeal, describing the sentencing as “sad and unfortunate.”
Kalu said, “He should exercise his right of appeal and appeal against the judgment. He has always been a man of dignity. What happened was unfortunate in his effort to be a great father to his sick child.
“I am not sure he hid his intentions for medical tourism to the UK to help his child. What I equally wonder is why the British Embassy failed to deny him a travel visa, knowing that the expressed intention was against their law. The investment of the institution in this man is huge and Nigeria will miss his contributions to the parliament.”
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, could not be reached on the telephone and he had yet to reply to a message from our correspondent as of press time.
