The House of Representatives has resolved to intervene in the organ harvesting case involving a former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in the United Kingdom.
The House, during plenary on Tuesday, urged British authorities to handle the case fairly.
Particularly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who has been championing a cause he termed ‘legislative diplomacy,’ said he would contact the Speaker of the British House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, with the hope of getting the United Kingdom to follow due process in Ekweremadu’s investigation.
Gbajabiamila made his remarks following a motion of urgent public importance moved by a member of the House, Abdulkadir Abdullahi, who sought justice and fairness for all parties in the case.
The speaker said, “I have spoken with the Nigerian High Commissioner (to the UK, Sharafa Ishola) who has been extremely proactive in this matter and I expressed the need for him to continue to avail Senator Ekweremadu with all the necessary assistance that he will need to prove his case.
“I think this should be heightened as well to the UK Parliament. I would try and get in touch with the Speaker of the Parliament whom I was opportune to meet with and had fruitful discussions with just a couple of months ago. I believe the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Buba Yusuf, should also get in touch with his foreign affairs counterpart in the UK Parliament.
“So, it is important that we apply diplomatic pressure. Nigeria has very strong diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom and all those areas must be explored. I wish the Senator and his family well. We cannot imagine what they are going through at this time.”
Recall that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested last week by the Specialist Crime Team of the Metropolitan Police in London for alleged conspiracy to harvest the organ of a minor, Nwamini David, who is currently in protective custody.
Meanwhile, at the Senate plenary on Tuesday, there was no mention of Ekweremadu, or his recent arrest and remand in the UK as the red chamber kept mum on the topic.
