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Organ harvesting: Obasanjo begs UK court for Ekweremadu over risk of 10 years imprisonment

Published

1 year ago

April 6, 2023

Taking his side for sympathy after a period of legal trial in London, the United Kingdom, over allegations of organ harvesting, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has written to the United Kingdom court that found former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice, guilty of organ trafficking.

In the letter addressed to the Chief Clerk, the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London, the former President requested Clerk to intervene and ensure the UK government temper justice with mercy on the matter.

The trial of the former Deputy Senate President had become of concern since last year when it was speculated there were clear evidence that could lead to his conviction. It is feared Ekweremadu may be at risk of being sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in line with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of the United Kingdom after a London court found him and his wife guilty of organ trafficking.

Obasanjo’s in his letter pleaded for mercy and profiled Ekweremadu with the sense of responsiblity. He said though he recognised the act of the conduct was illegitimate, yet the UK government should be magnanimous in mercy, arguing that both Ekweremadu and his wife have been committed to enhancing poor people’s access to quality education and healthcare and building their capacity to participate in mainstream social, political and economic activities of their communities.

The letter reads, “My dear Chief Clerk, may I seize this opportunity to commend your utmost dedication and resourcefulness which you have demonstrated with rare qualities of commitment and courage, while also upholding the cherished traditions of the Public Service.

“I am Olusegun Obasanjo, a soldier commissioned into the British Army of the West African Frontier Force in 1958, and rose to the rank of a full General in the Nigerian Army. I received the surrender of the Biafran Army at the end of the Nigerian civil war. I was military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and elected President from 1999 to 2007.

“It is with great pleasure that I write in respect of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who I have known for over two decades. Within this period, I have followed and watched, with keen interest, Ike Ekweremadu’s inspiring career which traversed private legal practice and public administration. I recall, with fond memories, the beginning of our political and social relationship at the outset of our collective quest for democratic rebirth for our fatherland. During my administration as a democratically-elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, Ike Ekweremadu and I had close relationship and interactions as staunch members of our political party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and more so as he got elected into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003, of which he has since remained a member till date.

“Within this period of his service in the Nigerian Parliament, he has served as Deputy Senate President of the Senate and has headed so many Committees in various capacities and brought to bear his broad-based experience in legal practice and public administration. Sometime in 2009, he was appointed as the First Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and made to lead Ad hoc Committee to work for the return of constitutional order in the Niger Republic.

“I clearly remember that in the heady days of the keen contest for the presidential ticket of our Party in early 1999, he joined other well-meaning Nigerians from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria to set aside extraneous considerations and ensured that South East unanimously adopted me for the Presidency. This was without regard to the fact that my closest competitor hailed from their part of the country.

“I truly cherish his God-fearing, dispassionate, moderate and pan-Nigerian approach to national issues and developments, in our multi-ethnic, multi-religious geo-polity. He dedicates himself to the service of God and humanity and he continues to play visible roles in national development.

“Through the Ikeoha Foundation, a non-governmental organisation founded by him and his wife, in 1997, he and his wife have rendered a lot of charitable activities, enhancing poor people’s access to quality education and healthcare and building their capacity to participate in mainstream social, political and economic activities of their communities.

“Ike Ekweremadu’s conferment with the coveted national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR, is further testimony to his selfless service to our country, Nigeria.

“Mr. Chief Clerk, I am very much aware of the current travails and conviction of Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the United Kingdom resulting from their being charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old from Nigeria to the UK in order to harvest organs for their daughter.

“I do realise the implications of their action and I dare say, it is unpleasant and condemnable and can’t be tolerated in any sane or civilised society.

“However, it is my fervent desire for very warm relations between the United Kingdom and Federal Republic of Nigeria; for his position as one of the distinguished Senators in the Nigerian Parliament, and also for the sake of their daughter in question whose current health condition is in danger and requires urgent medical attention, you will use your good offices to intervene and appeal to the court and the government of the United Kingdom to be magnanimous enough to temper justice with mercy and let punishment that may have to come take their good character and parental instinct and care into consideration.

“I do hope Mr. and Mrs. Ekweremadu have learnt from this distressing experience of theirs to guide their future actions or inactions so they will continue to be outstanding members of their community and will continue to contribute fully to the good of society in particular and the nation in general.

“Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.”

Ekweremadu’s fate was held in fear after he, his wife, and a doctor were convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court.

The accused were found guilty after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey over the case of facilitating the travel of a young Nigerian to the UK with a view to exploit him by harvesting his organ.

The jury had found that they criminally conspired to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to exploit him for his kidney.

Recall that the former deputy senate president was arrested and charged by MET Police last June for conspiracy to traffic a man whose name was later revealed as David Nwamini (Ukpo).

Nwamini reportedly was not a minor, based on the details provided by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and Westminster Magistrate Court last June and July respectively.

Nwamini, according to the UK Guardian, was offered an illegal reward to become a donor for Ekweremadu’s daughter who has a kidney disease that forced her to drop out of a master’s degree in film at Newcastle University.

“In February 2022 the man was falsely presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free hospital in London as Sonia’s cousin in a failed attempt to persuade medics to carry out an £80,000 transplant. For a fee, a medical secretary at the hospital acted as an Igbo translator between the man and the doctors to help try to convince them he was an altruistic donor, the court heard,” UK Guardian had reported.

The prosecutor, Hugh Davies told the court that the Ekweremadus and Obeta had treated the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward.”

He said they entered an “emotionally cold commercial transaction” with the man.

The behaviour of Mr Ekweremadu, a successful lawyer and founder of an anti-poverty charity who helped draw up Nigeria’s laws against organ trafficking, showed “entitlement, dishonesty and hypocrisy,” Mr Davies told the jury.

He said Ekweremadu, who owns several properties and had a staff of 80, “agreed to reward someone for a kidney for his daughter – somebody in circumstances of poverty and from whom he distanced himself and made no inquiries, and with whom, for his own political protection, he wanted no direct contact.”

“What he agreed to do was not simply expedient in the clinical interests of his daughter, Sonia, it was exploitation, it was criminal. It is no defence to say he acted out of love for his daughter. Her clinical needs cannot come at the expense of the exploitation of somebody in poverty,” UK Guardian had quoted Mr Davies as saying.

Meanwhile, Ekweremadu denied the charge, claiming he was the victim of a scam. In the same vein, the doctor, Mr Obeta, who also denied the charge, claimed the man was not offered a reward for his kidney and was acting altruistically.

Ekweremadu’s wife, Beatrice, denied any knowledge of the alleged conspiracy while his daughter, Sonia, did not give evidence.

WhatsApp messages shown to the court revealed Mr Obeta charged Mr Ekweremadu N4.5 million (about £8,000) made up of an “agent fee” and a “donor fee.”

Ekweremadu and Obeta later admitted to falsely claiming Nwamini was Sonia’s cousin in his visa application and in documents presented to the hospital.

The prosecution lawyer, Mr Davies said Ekweremadu ignored medical advice to find a donor for his daughter among genuine family members.

“At no point in time was there ever any intention for a family member close, medium or distant to do what could be paid for from a pool of donors,” he argued.

The judge, Jeremy Johnson, is expected to pass a sentence.

Related Topics:Ekweremadu Obasanjo UK Court

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NDIC increases deposit insurance coverage for financial institutions

Published

14 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Walewale

…New review ensures safety of depositors’ funds — MD

…Warn depositors against patronising unregistered operators

By Matthew Denis, Abuja

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) has announced an increase in maximum deposit insurance coverage for financial institutions in the country.

The new review was announced at a press briefing held at the NDIC headquarters in Abuja.

The Managing Director of the NDIC, Mr. Bello Hassan revealed that the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98percent of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20 percent.

The MD said, “Findings indicate that high percentages of depositors ranging from 89.20 percent to 99.99 percent were fully insured under the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels across different bank categories (DMBs, PMBs, MFBs, and PSBs), meanwhile, a substantial portion of the total value of deposits, remain uninsured.

“We need to stress at this juncture that high levels of uninsured deposits pose a risk of bank runs. Indeed, the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Brief No. 9 of 2023 that examined the recent bank failures in the United States of America and Switzerland, concluded that, high levels of uninsured deposits in insured institutions might increase the likelihood of bank runs with dire impact on the stability of the financial system,” he explained.

Mr. Bello stressed “that based on these considerations, and in line with our commitment to enhancing depositors’ protection, public confidence, financial inclusion, and stability of the financial system, I am pleased to announce that the NDIC’s Interim Management Committee (IMC), during its 18th meeting held on April 24th and 25th, approved an 3 increase in the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for all licensed deposit-taking financial institutions with immediate effect.

“The adjustments are as follows: i. Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98 percent of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20 percent.

“In terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37 percent compared with the current cover of 6.31 percent of total value of deposits.”

The NDIC boss explained that at the Microfinance Banks (MFBs) the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N200,000 to N2,000,000, would provide full coverage of 99.27 percent of the total depositors compared with the current level of 98.76 percent and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 34.43 percent compared with 14.38 percent of total value of deposit, currently covered.

He revealed that Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.34 percent of the total depositors compared with the current 97.98 percent and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 21.04 percent compared with 10.77 percent of total value of deposit, currently covered.

”While the Payment Service Banks (PSBs) the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.98 percent of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10percent of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60 percent.”

“Subscribers of Mobile Money Operators: The increase of the maximum Pass-through deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000 per subscriber per MMO as the applicable coverage level for depositors of DMBs. 4 7.0 I must emphasise that, the revised deposit insurance coverage has balanced the NDIC’s goals of deposit protection and financial system stability with incentives for depositors to practice market discipline and prevent banks from unnecessary risk-taking and moral hazard. Consideration was given to ensure that the coverage was limited but adequate enough to protect a large number of depositors and credible enough to prevent the destabilizing effect of bank runs,” he said.

Speaking further, Bello said the adoption of the revised maximum deposit insurance coverage is supported by the Corporation’s current funding, represented by the balances in the various Deposit Insurance Funds (DIFs), expected annual premium collection, enhanced supervision that would reduce the likelihood of bank failures, effective bank resolution frameworks and other funding arrangements provided by the NDIC Act No. 33 of 2023.

He buttressed further by noting, “I would like to reaffirm the NDIC’s unwavering commitment to protecting depositors and contributing to the stability of the financial system. These adjustments to the maximum deposit insurance coverage reflect our dedication to adapt and evolve in response to the changing landscape of the financial industry, and we remain steadfast in our pursuit of a secure and resilient banking environment for all.”

The MD also advised depositors to patronise only licensed and registered financial operators by the Central Bank and NDIC to avoid falling prey to mouth-watering Fintech operators who deceive customers with a lot of incentives and high interest rates.

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Minimum wage: Governors await committee decision, assure workers of increased wages

Published

14 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Walewale

The 36 states Governors of Nigerian states have stated that they are awaiting the decision of the 37-member tripartite committee inaugurated on the National Minimum Wage before taking an action on minimium wage.

Recall that the Federal Government had earlier set up a committee to look into the demands of the Organised Labour regarding measures to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.

Edo State has since go on to increase her minimium wage to N70,000 while other Governors have initiated wage awards for workers in their respective states.

In a statement signed yesterday by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, at the end of the virtual meeting held Wednesday night, the state executives disclosed that they were committed to looking into issues bordering on the remuneration of state judicial officers and the infrastructure of the courts.

The 36 state governors under the aegis of the NGF said that they celebrate with workers across the country for their dedication to service and patience, as all have worked with the Federal Government, labour, the organised private sector, and relevant stakeholders in arriving at an implementable national minimum wage.

According to the governors, while they acknowledge various initiatives adopted recently by way of wage awards and partial wage adjustments, it was imperative to state that the 37-member tripartite committee inaugurated on the National Minimum Wage was still in consultation and yet to conclude its work, just as they said that they would remain committed to the process and promise that better wages would be the invariable outcome of their ongoing negotiations.

The statement read, “We, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at our meeting held today, deliberated on various issues of national importance.

“The Forum celebrates with workers across the country their dedication to service and patience as we work with the Federal Government, labour, organised private sector, and relevant stakeholders to arrive at an implementable national minimum wage.

“While we acknowledge various initiatives adopted recently by way of wage awards and partial wage adjustments, it is imperative to state that the 37-member tripartite committee inaugurated on the National Minimum Wage is still in consultation and yet to conclude its work.

“As members of the committee, we are reviewing our individual fiscal space as state governments and the consequential impact of various recommendations to arrive at an improved minimum wage we can pay sustainably. We remain committed to the process and promise that better wages will be the invariable outcome of ongoing negotiations.

“Members received the outgoing Country Director, Mr. Shubham Chadhuri, and the incoming Country Director, Mr. Ndiame Diop, of the World Bank, to discuss the Bank’s vision for transitioning. Mr. Chadhuri appreciated the Forum for the strategic role it continues to play in coordinating collective action for developmental change.

“He applauded the non-partisan character of the Forum, the professionalism of its Secretariat, and state governments’ commitment to mutual accountability mechanisms such as performance-based financing interventions by the Bank. Members expressed confidence in the choice of Mr. Diop to lead the collaboration going forward and look forward to a sustained and deepened relationship.

“The Forum discussed the revised National Policy on Justice (2024–2028) from the just concluded National Summit on Justice on 24th & 25th April 2024. Members agreed to consider the submissions from the summit as may concern their individual states, including recommended legal amendments, administrative improvements, and policies to strengthen the justice sector. Also, the Forum committed to looking into issues bordering on remuneration of state judicial officers and the infrastructure of the courts.”

“The Forum received a presentation from the National Human Capital Development (HCD) Programme—Core Working Group Secretariat, led by Ms. Rukaiya El-Rufai and Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab. Both highlighted the marginal progress made by states and its contribution to Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI), especially across health, nutrition, education, and labour force participation.

“Having reviewed the previous program design and national strategy, a revised governance and implementation roadmap was proposed to scale up impact and ensure sustainability. Members pledged to support the effective domestication of proposed revisions to the national HCD strategy.

“Members received a briefing from Mrs. Oyinda Adedokun, Program Manager, State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Federal Ministry of Finance Programme Coordination Unit.

“The briefing highlighted states’ performance in implementing advocated reforms relating to land administration; regulatory framework for private investment in fiber optic infrastructure, services provided by investment promotion agencies and public-private partnership units; efficiency and transparency of government-to-business services, under the World Bank financed program.

“The Forum commiserated with the Governors of Rivers State, H.E. Siminalayi Fubara, and Ogun State, H.E. Prince Dapo Abiodun, over the petrol tanker explosion and gas explosion that occurred on April 26th and 27th, 2024, respectively. Members called for proper maintenance of trucks, especially those fitted to convey Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and recommended appropriate training for truck drivers.

“On enforcement of regulations, members resolved to engage relevant Ministries, Departments, & Agencies (MDAs) in order to align the activities of federal regulators with the operations of officials at the sub-national level.”

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Fidelity Bank records 120.1% growth in PBT to N39.5bn in Q1, 2024

Published

14 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Walewale

In line with its upward growth trajectory, leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has posted an impressive 120.1 percent growth in Profit Before Tax from N17.9bn at the end of Q1 2023 to N39.5bn for Q1 2024. This was made known in the Bank’s unaudited financial statements released on the issuer portal of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday, 30 April 2024.

According to the statement, Gross Earnings increased by 89.9 percent yoy to N192.1bn from N101.1bn in Q1 2023. The increase was led by a combination of interest income (90.7 percent yoy) and non-interest income (84.0 percent yoy). Growth in interest income was primarily spurred by a higher yield environment and strong earning assets base, while the increase in non-interest income was led by double-digit growth in account maintenance charges, FX-related income, trade, banking services, and remittances, supported by increased customer transactions.

Commenting on the results, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc stated, “We are pleased to report another quarter of strong financial performance driven by our strategic focus on customer-centricity, digital innovation and operational excellence. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, we remained resilient and agile, delivering double-digit growth on key income lines while advancing our business sustainability agenda.”

In the period under review, the bank grew Net interest income grew by 89.5 percent yoy to N99.6bn from N52.6bn in Q1 2023, driven by interest and similar income as the yield on financial instruments improved to 14.7 percent from 10.1 percent in Q1 2023 (2023FY: 11.6 percent). In line with the steady rise in interest rates through the year, average funding cost increased by 80bps ytd to 5.2 percent. However, NIM came in at 8.8 percent compared to 8.1 percent in 2023FY, as increased yield on earning assets surpassed funding cost to 15.1 percent from 13.3 percent in Q1 2023 (2023FY: 13.5 percent).

Similarly, Total Deposits increased by 17.2 percent ytd to N4.7tn from N4.0tn in 2023FY, driven by double-digit growth across all deposit types (demand, savings and term). Net Loans and Advances increased by 21.2 percent to N3.7tn from N3.1tn in 2023FY.

“Beginning the year on this inspiring note reaffirms our strategy of helping individuals to grow, inspiring businesses to thrive and empowering economies to prosper. We are committed to our guidance as we build a more resilient business franchise with a well-diversified earnings base in 2024,” explained Onyeali-Ikpe.

Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8.5 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.