After Ekweremadu case, father of alleged kidney donor passes away

The father of Ukpo David Nwamini, the young boy involved in the infamous kidney transplant saga with Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has passed away.

David Nwamini was taken to the United Kingdom by Senator Ekweremadu for an alleged kidney transplant.

Initially, Nwamini claimed to be a 15-year-old orphan, but later investigations revealed that both his parents were alive.

London Metropolitan Police had described him as a homeless and orphaned minor trafficked from Nigeria, a narrative later contradicted by facts.

Boniface Nwamini Ukpo, one of David’s brothers, confirmed the death of their father on Monday morning. He disclosed that the family has not been in contact with David since the incident occurred in 2022. “Yes, my father died yesterday (Sunday) afternoon at 12 p.m.

It’s so sad that since the incident happened in 2022, we have not spoken with my brother, David Nwamini,” he said. Boniface added that the stress from the saga had taken a toll on their father’s health.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, and a Nigerian doctor, Obinna Obeta, were convicted and jailed in March 2023 in the UK’s first illegal organ-harvesting prosecution.

Ekweremadu received a sentence of nine years and eight months, Beatrice was sentenced to four years and six months, while Obeta was jailed for 10 years.

The trio was found guilty of conspiring to arrange the travel of the boy from Nigeria to the UK to harvest his kidney for a transplant to their seriously ill daughter.

The case sparked widespread attention both in Nigeria and the UK, raising issues around illegal organ trafficking and exploitation.