NEWS
The Ekweremadus Health, Human Trafficking, Organ Harvesting Travails
By Kenneth Eze
The world was jolted last Thursday when news broke out that Nigeria’s former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice Nwanneka Ekweremadu’s alleged involvement in human trafficking and organ harvesting in the United Kingdom (UK).
Coming on the heels of overwhelming hardship being experienced by the masses in Nigeria, it is relatable that the Nigerian public chose to celebrate the matter, instead of empathising with a spouse looking to save the life of a child a daughter battling with a terminal illness.
Sadly, the issue of ill-governance and consequently hardship it has brought upon the populace seem to have eroded humanity to the point where people seem to be praying for the rich to also cry.
I wonder if this should be. And why?
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While we are entitled to the legitimate right to wrestle our collective destiny at the national level from unscrupulous politicians, we owe ourselves the duty to do so rationally.
It can be said that the public’s spontaneous reaction can be seen as a lesson for politicians and public servants, but the more salient issues are: Without controversy, every responsible parent would do everything legal within his/her to save his/her child who is similarly threatened like Sonia Ekweremadu. The next is that no one has a moral right to seek to profit from the misfortune of another, particularly illness. The third is that the parties to this (the Ekweremadus and the proposed donor, Ukpo Nwamini David) are adults and can enter into a binding contract.
My candid take is that the public ought to weigh the issues properly before jumping into the conversation. Suffice it to state that at moment there’s scanty information, as there’s little or no access to the parties to the matter. This has made real informed commentary tough naught at this time.
However, a sensitive aspect of the discourse is the proposed donor’s age. While the Metropolitan Police said the boy is 15, his traveling documents indicate that he is 21. What nobody can take away is that his picture and social media footprints tell a story of someone well above the 15 being brandied.
Another aspect that no one can mask is that his traveling was processed formally on medical grounds, for which he had privileged information. The coming days will reveal why this dangerous twist came into the story.
Another aspect that lends itself to plausibility is the fact that any young unemployed person would almost stop at nothing to secure an exit from the open prison, called Nigeria. Probably, this is the card this young man is playing. It would be sickening if this should be the case, that an individual would go to the extent of throwing another of high public standing under the bus, just to secure papers to stay in a foreign country.
This ought to be of concern to members of the public.
While each person is at liberty to seek to live or work wherever he or she wishes, that should not be at the detriment of others, particularly, someone with a terminal illness.
It’s painful enough to have a child with a terminal disease. And for another to seek to profit from it, endangering the sick child and her parents in the process. That’s hard to imagine!
Where’s humanity and compassion? And for others to condemn a genuine effort of parents to save the life of their daughter. I think we all need to think again.
Unfortunately for the Ekweremadus, the extant laws in the UK favor the minor. It is not clear if there’s a legal provision that can unravel this young man’s real age. Because until that is done, though, evidence of Ukpo submitting himself to the procurement of travelling documents, and indeed, undertaking the journey without alerting the law, in addition to willingly being ‘spoilt’ by the Ekweremadus, indicate that he consented, they amount to nothing.
Extant laws in the UK are in place to protect the weak or disadvantaged, which weighs against the Ekweremadus, albeit momentarily.
While these are ongoing, it is time to become sober and ponder on; ‘To what extend should parents go to try to save the life of a child diagnosed with a terminal illness?’
I am actually worried at the sudden turn of events because this is Nigeria, a country where people of all tribes and religions donate to save the lives of others just at the prompting of trusted media channels or other individuals.
What could have gone wrong? This is beyond religious or political sentiments.
Ukpo might be making all manner of claims before the UK authorities, but it must be borne in mind that the request upon which his UK visa was granted was founded on medical. Now, that he is claiming ignorance of what took him to the UK, can he adduce evidence of his medical condition and why the onus fell on the Ekweremadus to take him to the UK for treatment?
Unless Ukpo comes clean on this, his claims might appeal to the UK authorities and their legal system, but however this ends, he would have to live with the burden of undoing a benefactor all the days of his life.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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