* Beatrice Ekweremadu
The Pathfinder
Saturday, January 24, 2026
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Beatrice Ekweremadu, wife of former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, has returned to Nigeria following her release from a prison in the United Kingdom, where she served part of her sentence over a widely publicised organ-harvesting conspiracy case.
Mrs. Ekweremadu arrived in Abuja on Tuesday, January 21, 2026, and was received by family members and close associates at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. This marks her first return to Nigerian soil since the legal proceedings surrounding the case began in mid-2022.
Her homecoming has reportedly been greeted with jubilation in her hometown of Mpu, in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State, even as her husband remains incarcerated in the United Kingdom.
Legal Background and Conviction
Mrs. Ekweremadu’s return follows her conviction in May 2023 by the Old Bailey in London, where she was found guilty of conspiring to facilitate the travel of a 21-year-old Lagos-based street trader to the UK for the purpose of harvesting his kidney. The organ was intended for the couple’s daughter, Sonia, who suffers from a chronic kidney ailment.
The prosecution was brought under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, marking the first time the legislation was applied in a human organ-harvesting case. Mrs. Ekweremadu was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment.
Under UK sentencing guidelines, non-violent offenders are generally eligible for release on licence after serving half of their custodial term. Reports indicate that her early release was aided by her good conduct while in custody, as well as broader UK government measures aimed at easing prison overcrowding.
* Husband Remains in Custody
Despite his wife’s release and return home, Senator Ike Ekweremadu remains in a UK correctional facility. In the same May 2023 judgment, the former lawmaker was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, having been identified by the court as the principal architect of the conspiracy.
Attempts by the Nigerian federal government to secure his release or transfer back to Nigeria have so far yielded no success. In late 2025, a high-level diplomatic delegation reportedly travelled to London to explore the possibility of a Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) that would allow Ekweremadu to serve the remainder of his sentence in Nigeria.
However, the UK Home Office was said to have rejected the request in November 2025, citing concerns over the assurance that the sentence would be fully enforced if transferred to Nigerian jurisdiction.
The third defendant in the case, Dr. Obinna Obeta, whom prosecutors described as the medical “middleman,” continues to serve a 10-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Ekweremadus’ daughter, Sonia, who was cleared of all criminal charges during the 2023 trial, remains in the UK, where she is reportedly undergoing ongoing medical treatment.
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