The Central Criminal Court, London has denied bail to Nigerian Senator, Ike Ekweremadu, accused of conspiracy to harvest a person’s organ for his sick daughter.
It means that the former deputy president of the Senate would be spending his Christmas in custody.
In a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, the court, also known as the Old Bailey, refused to grant Ekweremadu bail on the grounds that he would flee the country.
In the bail application, Ekweremadu’s lawyer had argued that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and the Attorney-General of the Federation had written to the court that Ekweremadu was not a flight risk.
The lawyer further argued that a guarantee to produce him should he pose a flight risk was given, adding that the Nigeria High Commission in the UK had equally given the option of tagging the former Deputy Senate President electronically to monitor his movement.
As regards attestation of Ekweremadu’s character by respected Nigerians and organisations, his lawyer also argued that the lawmaker had proven to be a caring and responsible father and could not escape from London, abandoning his wife and sick daughter.
The defence further told the court that they had sureties and securities of nearly half a million pounds from 11 people to secure Ekweremadu’s release on bail.
Stating that the lawmaker was a highly regarded, well-known public figure, his lawyer also referred to Ekweremadu’s involvement in some global humanitarian courses.
However, the court noted that the bail would not make much difference because the trial is just over a month away.
Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice were arrested on June 23 and charged with conspiracy to traffic a person for organ harvesting in violation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
