The UK government has declined Nigeria’s request to have former deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu deported to serve the rest of his prison sentence back home.

Ekweremadu, 63, is currently serving nine years and eight months in a UK prison after being convicted in 2023 for conspiring to exploit a young man for his kidney. He was found guilty alongside his wife, Beatrice, and their associate, Dr. Obinna Obeta, in what became the first organ-trafficking conviction under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act.

The group had trafficked a young man to London, falsely claiming he was a relative willing to donate his kidney for a transplant to Ekweremadu’s daughter, Sonia. The planned procedure, set to take place at a private NHS unit, was stopped after doctors raised concerns about the victim’s consent.

Last week, a Nigerian delegation led by Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar met officials at the UK Ministry of Justice to request Ekweremadu’s transfer to Nigeria. The UK rejected the proposal, citing concerns that Nigeria could not guarantee he would continue serving his sentence after deportation.

A Ministry of Justice source confirmed the refusal, while the government said it could not comment on individual cases but stressed that any prisoner transfer must meet strict justice and security conditions.

A UK official added:
“The UK will not tolerate modern slavery, and offenders will face the full force of the law.”

Beatrice Ekweremadu, who received a four-and-a-half-year sentence, has already been released and returned to Nigeria earlier this year.

During sentencing, the judge described the trio’s actions as a “despicable trade”, calling organ harvesting a form of modern slavery and stating that Ekweremadu was the “driving force” behind the conspiracy — a dramatic fall for a once-influential politician.

The case also exposed vulnerabilities in the UK health system after it emerged the Royal Free Hospital did not report the suspicious transplant attempt to authorities.

The victim, known in court as “C”, later fled to the police after fearing he was being targeted for another transplant in Nigeria. It was also revealed that Dr. Obeta had previously undergone a kidney transplant using another allegedly trafficked donor.

Nigeria’s request for Ekweremadu’s deportation has sparked criticism at home, with many questioning why the government has not shown similar concern for the more than 230 other Nigerians imprisoned in the UK.

Nigeria’s High Commission in London has yet to issue a statement on the matter.