JUST IN: Court orders Immigration to release ‘Organ Donor’s’ biodata to Ekweremadu

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to release the biodata information of David Ukpo Nwamini, alleged organ donor, to former Deputy President, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice.

Senator Ekweremadu and his wife are being detained by the United Kingdom authorities over charges of conspiring to bring a child to Britain for organ harvesting with Nwamini said to be the victim.

Others affected by the order of the court are the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service; Stanbic-IBTC Bank; United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc, all of who are defendants in the case.

Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order in a ruling on Friday after listening to Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), the lawyer to Senator Ekweremadu and his wife.

Ekweremadu and his wife had in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2022 urged the court to among others, order the defendants to supply them with the certified true copies (CTC) of David Ukpo’s biodata information in their care to aid their (plaintiffs) defence in their trial before a United Kingdom Magistrates’ Court, where they are accused of plotting to harvest Ukpo’s organ (kidney).

At the mention of the case on Friday, Awomolo withdrew against NIBSS, following which Justice Ekwo struck its name off the suit.

READ: BVN, UK Visa put age of ‘Organ Donor’ in Ekweremadus’ saga at 21

When asked by the judge if his client was served, UBA’s lawyer, G. O. Maduka acknowledged service.

Maduka added that, after going through the plaintiffs’ motion on notice, he felt there was no need to react.

Awomolo proceeded to move the motion and drew the court’s attention to letters written by some of the defendants, indicating that they would not honour the plaintiffs’ request for information on Ukpo until there was a court order to that effect.

Ruling, Justice Ekwo said he was satisfied that the defendants had been served with the relevant court documents.

The judge added that by the averments in the application by Ekweremadu and his wife, he was satisfied that their prayers were out to be granted.

He said: “I make an order granting the prayers.”

Following their arrest by the London Metropolitan Police, they were arraigned before Uxbridge Magistrate Court which ordered that they should be remanded in custody till July 7, while investigations continue into the allegations against them.

Although the Met police said Nwamini was 15, the NIS said it issued an international passport stating his age as 21, after due process.