An alleged victim of organ harvesting, David Nwamini, has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to rescind his order for the disclosure of his biometric information to Ike Ekweremadu.
Mr. Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested in the UK in June for allegedly trying to remove Mr. Nwamini’s kidney for their ailing daughter.
The London Metropolitan Police arrested Ekweremadus based on their investigations that Mr Nwanini, whom the couple brought to London for organ harvesting, was a minor.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that prosecutors said the Ekweremadus were accused of bringing a 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK on the grounds that he was going to have a better life in the UK, but in reality it was to extract the organ.
But in July, a criminal court rejected Ekweremadu’s bail request, but released his wife.
The couple had insisted that Mr. Nwanini was 21 years old and had asked for his official records to substantiate their claim with the official records of the alleged victims in the custody of the relevant Nigerian authorities, including the NIMC.
Granting his request, the Federal High Court in Abuja, on July 1, ordered the relevant government agencies and commercial banks in Nigeria to release the personal data of Mr. Nwamini, the beleaguered Ekweremadus.
nwamini costume
However, in the new application before Judge Inyang Ekwo, Mr. Nwamini challenged the court proceedings that ordered the disclosure of his personal data to the Ekweremadus.
He argued that the lawsuit denied him a fair hearing and violated his right to personal privacy.
Mr. Nwamini, through his lawyer, Bamidele Igbinedion, questioned the absence of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in the case.
In a court filing, Mr. Igbinedion prayed to the court to reverse the order allowing the disclosure of his client’s biographical data to the Ekweremadus for his defense at Uxbridge Magistrate’s Court in London.
The applicant listed: the National Commission for Identity Management (NIMC), Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Nigerian Interbank Settlement System.
Mr. Nwamini is begging the court to stop the defendants, their agents, privates, staff and workers from disclosing any information relating to him to the Ekweremadus in order to present their defense in the British Court.
Background
PREMIUM TIMES reported that British prosecutors said the Ekweremadus were accused of bringing a 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK with the claim that he was going to have a better life in the UK, but in reality it was to extract your organ.
But the couple, who were denied bail and face organ trafficking charges in London, insisted Nwanini was 21.
In the lawsuit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/2022, the Ekweremadus had asked the court to order the NIMC to provide them with the certified true copy of Mr. Nwamini’s biodata information for the purpose of submission to the British court. in the pending process. criminal charges against them.
The lawsuit followed the revelation by immigration authorities in Nigeria that Mr. Nwanini’s records from the National Population Commission (NPC) and NIMC indicated his date of birth as October 12, 2000, contrary to alleged claims. claims by the organ donor that he or she is 15 years old. age.
In court documents, Ekweremadu’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, said Nwanini was flown to the UK with his consent to be a kidney donor for his daughter.
But after a medical examination of Mr. Nwamini’s kidneys, none were found to be a match for the couple’s daughter, according to the documents.