Maduka James, a Nigerian hotel manager now residing in Canada, has alleged a chilling series of threats, torture, and persecution stemming from the high-profile 2022 arrest of Nigerian politician Ike Ekweremadu and his wife in the UK for organ trafficking.
In a statement obtained, Maduka, who hails from Igbere in Abia State, Nigeria, narrated how he and staff at Crownedge Hotels in Lagos were caught in a storm of political and security backlash after it was revealed that the young man at the center of the UK case once lodged at their facility.
Maduka recounted that on March 12, 2022, a lady accompanied by a young man checked into Room 204 of Crownedge Hotels, paying for a month’s stay.
The situation escalated when, in June 2022, news broke globally that Senator Ekweremadu and his wife had been arrested in the United Kingdom for attempting to harvest the organs of the young man.
Maduka recognized the boy from the hotel and said he and the staff were as shocked as the rest of the country.
However, matters turned dire in July 2022.
According to Maduka, the situation worsened after the Ekweremadus were convicted in the UK. Nigerian authorities allegedly resumed relentless harassment.
He recounted threats to his family, the vandalism of his wife’s car, and the eventual murder of his hotel supervisor, Tony Ocheme, whose decapitated body was found in November 2023.
Maduka, who had secured admission to Conestoga College in Waterloo, Canada for a January 2024 program in Global Hospitality Management, said his bank account was frozen in December 2023 after men claiming to be from the State Security Service (SSS) ordered its closure.
Fearing for his safety, Maduka said he went into hiding before his Canadian visa was approved.
He was smuggled onto a plane with the help of friends and left Nigeria for Canada. “I haven’t seen my wife or infant daughter since,” he said tearfully. “I don’t know if they’re safe.”
Now stranded and unable to access his funds or pay his school fees, Maduka is seeking protection in Canada.