ORGAN TRAFFICKING: Vicim asks court to stop release of bio-data to Ekweremadu

The victim of the alleged organ harvesting scandal involving Nigerian Senator, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, David Ukpo, has filed a motion at the Federal High Court in Abuja asking it to nullify an order on July 1 for the release of his bio-data to the Senator for his trial in a London court.

Ukpo, who filed the application on Tuesday through his lawyers, faulted earlier proceedings of the court which led to issuance of the order, claiming that his fundamental rights to fair hearing and personal privacy had been grossly breached by the order.

According to the application, neither the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, as the chief law officer of the Federation, was made a party in the litigation.

In a motion on notice filed on his behalf by his lead counsel, Bamidele Igbinedion, Ukpo told the presiding judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Inyang Ekwo, to reverse the order permitting the release of his bio-data to Ekweremadu and his wife for their defence before the Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London.

Also listed as defendants in the motion were the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA)) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.

Read also: ALLEGED ORGAN TRAFFICKING: Court directs banks, NIS to release Nwamini’s details to Ekweremadu, wife

The applicant prayed the court to restrain the defendants, their agents, privies, staff and workers from releasing any information concerning him to Ekweremadu and his wife for their defence in the London Court.

Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were arrested and arraigned by the Metropolitan Police over charges bordering on a plot to illegally smuggle Ukpo into the UK for the purpose of harvesting his organ for a transplant for their sick daughter who is suffering from a kidney related ailment.

Though Beatrice was given bail by the court, the former Deputy Senate President was denied bail and has been in custody since then.

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