- * Mandates Foreign Affairs Ministry To Provide Consular Services To Them
By Suzan Okenwa (Senate Correspondent, NASS)
The Nigerian Senate, will, on Friday July 1, 2022, despatch a Senate delegation comprising members of it's Committee on Foreign Affairs to London, United Kingdom, to pay a visit to the former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Dr Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu, who are currently in detention over allegations of human trafficking and organ harvesting.
This was made known on Wednesday by the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, shortly after a closed-door session by the Senate before the start of it's plenary on Wednesday. The closed door session started at about 10:58 a m and ended at 11:50 a m.
Senator Lawan revealed that the closed session deliberated on the case of the Ekweremadus, their arrest and detention, and eventually resolved to intervene. He further stated that the Senate's intervention was informed by the briefing received by the Nigerian High Commissioner to London.
The Senate President also revealed that the Senate would interface with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian High Commission in London on the recent arrest of Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, by the British Metropolitan Police, in London.
According to Senator Lawan, “I had a personal engagement with our Nigerian High Commissioner to Britain, Alhaji Ishola Sharafa, who has done so well to establish contact with our colleague, who has been able to get his team to be in the court at Uxbridge where Ekweremadu was taken to.
“The high Commission has also been able to provide some consular services that include the engagement of some lawyers who will defend our colleague. We commend them for giving attention to the issue at stake. Equally, the Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister has been engaged here, so that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes steps to provide diplomatic support for our colleague.
“Because this issue is already in court, we have limited opportunity to discuss beyond what we have done so far. But I want to assure the family of our colleague, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Nigerians, that the Senate will continue to engage with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as our High Commission in London.
“The High Commission has done so much, but we still expect that it will continue to provide any other further consular services. We have also mandated our committee on Foreign Affairs to engage with the British High Commission here in Nigeria, to find more details on this case, as as far as the High Commission is involved.
“There will be a delegation to London to see Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife. A delegation from the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate will leave in the next two days to London for that purpose. I want to urge all federal government institutions that can do anything to ensure that Justice prevails in this case, that they should do so", Senator Ahmad Lawan stated.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Nwanneka, were arrested early last week by the London Metropolitan Police on their arrival at the Heathrow International Airport in UK based on allegation of human trafficking and plan to harvest the organ of one David Nwamini Ukpo, a 21 year-old boy from Ebonyi state, South East Nigeria.
Ekweremadu and his wife have been on remand, in custody, on the orders of an Uxbridge Magistrate Court which denied them bail when they were brought for trial late last week. They will be appearing in court again on Thursday, July 7, 2022. NNL.
